Dual orientation connector with external contacts

ABSTRACT

A dual orientation connector having a connector tab with first and second major opposing sides and a plurality of electrical contacts carried by the connector tab. The plurality of contacts includes a first set of external contacts formed at the first major side and a second set of external contacts formed at the second major side. The first plurality of contacts are symmetrically spaced with the second plurality of contacts and the connector tab is shaped to have 180 degree symmetry so that it can be inserted and operatively coupled to a corresponding receptacle connector in either of two insertion orientations.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional applicationSer. No. 14/615,240, filed Feb. 5, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,478,905);which claims priority to U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No.13/700,441, filed Nov. 27, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,998,632); whichclaims priority to U.S. National Stage Application of PCT/US2011/038452,filed May 27, 2011; which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Nos. 61/349,737, filed May 28, 2010; 61/353,126, filed Jun.9, 2010; 61/356,499, filed Jun. 18, 2010; 61/407,363, filed Oct. 27,2010; 61/436,490, filed Jan. 26, 2011; and 61/436,545, filed Jan. 26,2011. The disclosures of each of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to input/output electricalconnectors such as audio connectors and data connectors.

Standard audio connectors or plugs are available in three sizesaccording to the outside diameter of the plug: a 6.35 mm (¼″) plug, a3.5 mm (⅛″) miniature plug and a 2.5 mm ( 3/32″) subminiature plug. Theplugs include multiple conductive regions that extend along the lengthof the connectors in distinct portions of the plug such as the tip,sleeve and one or more middle portions between the tip and sleeveresulting in the connectors often being referred to as TRS (tip, ringand sleeve) connectors.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate examples of audio plugs 10 and 20 havingthree and four conductive portions, respectfully. As shown in FIG. 1A,plug 10 includes a conductive tip 12, a conductive sleeve 16 and aconductive ring 14 electrically isolated from the tip 12 and the sleeve16 by insulating rings 17 and 18. The three conductive portions 12, 14,16 are for left and right audio channels and a ground connection. Plug20, shown in FIG. 1B, includes four conductive portions: a conductivetip 22, a conductive sleeve 26 and two conductive rings 24, 25 and isthus sometime referred to as a TRRS (tip, ring, ring, sleeve) connector.The four conductive portions are electrically isolated by insulatingrings 27, 28 and 29 and are typically used for left and right audio,microphone and ground signals. As evident from FIGS. 1A and 1B, each ofaudio plugs 10 and 20 are orientation agnostic. That is, the conductiveportions completely encircle the connector forming 360 degree contactssuch that there is no distinct top, bottom or side to the plug portionof the connectors.

When plugs 10 and 20 are 3.5 mm miniature connectors, the outer diameterof conductive sleeve 16, 26 and conductive rings 14, 24, 25 is 3.5 mmand the insertion length of the connector is 14 mm. For 2.5 mmsubminiature connectors, the outer diameter of the conductive sleeve is2.5 mm and the insertion length of the connector is 11 mm long. Such TRSand TRRS connectors are used in many commercially available MP3 playersand smart phones as well as other electronic devices. Electronic devicessuch as MP3 players and smart phones are continuously being designed tobe thinner and smaller and/or to include video displays with screensthat are pushed out as close to the outer edge of the devices aspossible. The diameter and length of current 3.5 mm and even 2.5 mmaudio connectors are limiting factors in making such devices smaller andthinner and in allowing the displays to be larger for a given formfactor.

Many standard data connectors are also only available in sizes that arelimiting factors in making portable electronic devices smaller.Additionally, and in contrast to the TRS connectors discussed above,many standard data connectors require that they be mated with acorresponding connector in a single, specific orientation. Suchconnectors can be referred to as polarized connectors. As an example ofa polarized connector, FIGS. 2A and 2B depict a micro-USB connector 30,the smallest of the currently available USB connectors. Connector 30includes a body 32 and a metallic shell 34 that extends from body 32 andcan be inserted into a corresponding receptacle connector. As shown inFIGS. 2A, 2B, shell 34 has angled corners 35 formed at one of its bottomplates. Similarly, the receptacle connector (not shown) with whichconnector 30 mates has an insertion opening with matching angledfeatures that prevents shell 34 from being inserted into the receptacleconnector the wrong way. That is, it can only be inserted one way—in anorientation where the angled portions of shell 34 align with thematching angled portions in the receptacle connector. It is sometimesdifficult for the user to determine when a polarized connector, such asconnector 30 is oriented in the correct insertion position.

Connector 30 also includes an interior cavity 38 within shell 34 alongwith contacts 36 formed within the cavity. Cavity 38 is prone tocollecting and trapping debris within the cavity which may sometimesinterfere with the signal connections to contacts 36. Also, and inaddition to the orientation issue, even when connector 30 is properlyaligned, the insertion and extraction of the connector is not precise,and may have an inconsistent feel. Further, even when the connector isfully inserted, it may have an undesirable degree of wobble that mayresult in either a faulty connection or breakage.

Many other commonly used data connectors, including standard USBconnectors, mini USB connectors, FireWire connectors, as well as many ofthe proprietary connectors used with common portable media electronics,suffer from some or all of these deficiencies or from similardeficiencies.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the invention pertain to plug connectors andreceptacle connectors that improve upon some or all of the abovedescribed deficiencies. Other embodiments of the invention pertain tomethods of manufacturing such plug and/or receptacle connectors as wellas electronic devices that include such connectors. Embodiments of theinvention are not limited to any particular type of connector and may beused for numerous applications. Some embodiments, however, areparticularly well suited for use as audio connectors and someembodiments are particularly well suited for data connectors.

In view of the shortcomings in currently available audio and dataconnectors as described above, some embodiments of the present inventionrelate to improved audio and/or data plug connectors that have a reducedplug length and thickness, an intuitive insertion orientation and asmooth, consistent feel when inserted and extracted from itscorresponding receptacle connector. Additionally, some embodiments ofplug connectors according to the present invention have externalcontacts instead of internal contacts and do not include a cavity thatis prone to collecting and trapping debris.

One particular embodiment of the invention pertains to a dualorientation plug connector having external contacts carried by aconnector tab. The connector tab can include first and second opposingsides with a first set of contacts formed on the first side and a secondset of contacts formed on the second side. The first set of contacts canbe symmetrically spaced with the second set of contacts and theconnector tab can have a 180 degree symmetrical shape so that it can beinserted and operatively coupled to a corresponding receptacle connectorin either of two insertion orientations. In some embodiments the plugconnector further includes one or more ground contacts formed on sidesurfaces of the connector tab that extend between the first and secondsurfaces, and in some additional embodiments the connector tab includesa cap or ground ring that covers the tip of the connector and extendsfrom the tip towards the body along at least a portion of each of theside surfaces. In some further embodiments, the connector tab includesat least one retention feature adapted to engage with a retentionfeature on a corresponding receptacle connector.

In another embodiment, the invention pertains to an dual orientationelectrical connector comprising a body and a connector tab extendinglongitudinally away from the body that includes first and secondopposing surfaces. A plurality of electrical contacts are carried by theconnector tab including a first set of external contacts formed at thefirst surface and a second set of external contacts formed at the secondsurface. The connector tab is shaped to have 180 degree symmetry and thefirst set of contacts is symmetrically spaced with the second set ofcontacts al lowing the connector to be inserted into a correspondingreceptacle connector in either of two orientations. In some instances,the connector tab can further include a side peripheral surface thatextends between the first and second opposing surfaces and at least oneground contact formed on the side peripheral surface. Additionally, insome embodiments the connector still further includes a metal groundring that generally defines a shape of the connector tab and includesopenings on both the first and second surfaces in which the first andsecond sets of contacts are respectively formed and surrounded by adielectric. Still in some other embodiments, the body includes aflexible member or is made from a flexible material that allows theconnector to bend with respect to an insertion axis in which theconnector is mated with a receptacle connector.

In still another embodiment, the invention pertains to a dualorientation electrical plug connector having a body, a cable attached tothe body, and an unpolarized connector tab extending longitudinally awayfrom the body. The connector tab may have a generally rectangular crosssection defined by first and second major opposing surfaces and firstand second opposing side surfaces extending between the first and secondmajor surfaces. A plurality of electrical wiping contacts can be carriedby the connector tab including a first set of external contacts formedat the first major surface and extending parallel to each other along alength of the connector, and a second set of external contacts formed atthe second major surface and extending parallel to each other along thelength of the connector. The connector may also include first and secondretention features formed on the first and second opposing sidesurfaces, respectively, that are adapted to engage with retentionfeatures on a corresponding receptacle connector to secure theconnectors together during a mating event. In some embodiments, thefirst retention feature may also function as a first ground contact andthe second retention feature may also function as a second groundcontact. The first set of contacts can be symmetrically spaced with thesecond set of contacts, and the fist ground contact can be symmetricallyspaced with the second ground contact so that the connector tab has 180degree symmetry and can be inserted and operatively coupled to thecorresponding receptacle connector in either of two positions.

Other embodiments of the invention pertain to electrical receptacleconnectors. In one embodiment, the receptacle connector can include ahousing that defines an interior cavity extending in a direction of thedepth of the housing and a plurality of electrical contacts positionedwithin the cavity. The cavity can have a 180 degree symmetrical shape sothat a corresponding plug connector can be inserted into the cavity ineither of two insertion orientations. Additionally, the plurality ofcontacts may include a first set of contacts positioned at a firstinterior surface of the cavity and a second set of contacts positionedat a second interior surface of the cavity spaced apart from the firstinterior surface in an opposing relationship. The first and second setsof contacts can further be mirror images of each other. In someembodiments, the receptacle connector can also include at least oneretention feature adapted to engage with a retention feature on acorresponding plug connector. In still other embodiments, the receptacleconnector can include first and second retention features positioned onopposing side surfaces the cavity adapted to engage with first andsecond retention features on a corresponding plug connector.

In another embodiment, the invention pertains to an electrical plugconnector that includes a conductive cap or ground ring to isolate theconnector's contacts from interference. The connector can furtherinclude a body and a connector tab that is attached to and extendslongitudinally away from the body. The conductive cap can cover a tip ofthe connector and extend from the tip towards the body along at least aportion of the connector tab's side surfaces. A plurality of externalcontacts can be carried by the connector tab at a location at leastpartially surrounded by the conductive cap. In some embodiments theplurality of external contacts can include contacts formed at both firstand second major opposing surfaces of the connector tab, and in someembodiments the contacts formed at the first and second surfaces arearranged on each surface in matching patterns. Additionally, in someembodiments the conductive cap can be a metal cap and in someembodiments the connector can further include first and second groundcontacts formed on the sides of the conductive cap. In differentembodiments the conductive cap may be a U-shaped frame or may generallydefine a shape of the connector tab except for the one or more contactregions of the connector tab in which the plurality of contacts areformed.

In still another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a plug connectorhaving a body and a tab that is adapted to be inserted into acorresponding receptacle connector is disclosed. The method includesforming the connector tab to have first and second major opposingsurfaces, third and fourth opposing side surfaces extending between thefirst and second surfaces and a 180 degree symmetrical design such thata plane bisecting a width of the connector tab at an angle perpendicularto the first and second major surfaces divides the tab into left andright portions that have substantially the same outer shape and ahorizontal plane bisecting a height of the connector tab at an angleperpendicular to the third and fourth side surfaces divides the tab intoupper and lower portions that have substantially the same outer shape;forming a first contact region at the first major surface of theconnector tab and a second contact region at a second major surface ofthe connector tab opposite the first major surface, the first and secondcontact regions being substantially the same size and shape andincluding an equal number of contacts, wherein contacts in the firstcontact region are arranged in a first pattern according to a firstspacing and contacts in the second contact are also arranged in thefirst pattern according to the first spacing; and attaching a cablehaving a plurality of insulated wires to the body so that eachindividual wire in the plurality of insulated wires is electricallyconnected to a contact in either the first or second contact regions.

To better understand the nature and advantages of the present invention,reference should be made to the following description and theaccompanying figures. It is to be understood, however, that each of thefigures is provided for the purpose of illustration only and is notintended as a definition of the limits of the scope of the presentinvention. Also, as a general rule, and unless it is evident to thecontrary from the description, where elements in different figures useidentical reference numbers, the elements are generally either identicalor at least similar in function or purpose.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show perspective views of previously known TRS audioplug connectors;

FIG. 2A shows a perspective view of a previously known micro-USB plugconnector while FIG. 2B shows a front plan view of the micro-USBconnector shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is simplified top view of a plug connector 40 according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3B and 3C are simplified side and front views, respectively, ofconnector 40 shown in FIG. 3A;

FIGS. 4A-4C are front view of alternative embodiments of connector 40according to the present invention;

FIGS. 5A-5H are simplified top views of contact layouts within contactregion 46 of connector 40 according to different embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 6A is simplified view of contact region 46 a of plug connector 50and FIG. 6B is simplified view of contact region 46 a of plug connector50 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B according to a specific embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams depicting a set of exemplary contactlocations according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 8A-8C are simplified top, bottom and side plan views of a plugcontact connector that includes an orientation key according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 9A-9F are simplified schematic representations of contactarrangements of connectors according to additional embodiments of theinvention;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams depicting a set of exemplary contactlocations according to some other embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 11A is a simplified side cross-sectional view of a plug connector90 according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11B is a simplified side view of plug connector 90 shown in FIG.11A that illustrates how the connector may bend when extracted from areceptacle connector by being pulled in a direction that intersects theconnector's axis of insertion;

FIG. 12A is simplified top view of a plug connector 100 according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12B is a simplified side view of connector 100 shown in FIG. 12A;

FIGS. 13A and 13B are simplified perspective views of a ground ring thatcan be included in some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 14A is a simplified perspective view of an audio plug connector 110according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 14B-14D are simplified plan views of the audio plug connectorshown in FIG. 14A;

FIGS. 15A-15E are exploded perspective views of the connector 110 shownin FIG. 14A at various stages of manufacture;

FIGS. 16A-16C illustrate one example of how ground ring 102 shown inFIG. 14A can be formed;

FIG. 17A is a simplified perspective view of an audio plug connector 140according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 17B-17D, which are simplified plan views of connector 140 shown inFIG. 17A;

FIG. 18 is a simplified cross-sectional view of connector 140 alonglines A-A′ shown in FIG. 17D;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are simplified cross-sectional views of alternativemethod of connecting insulator 144 to ground ring 115 shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 20A is a simplified perspective view of a plug connector 150according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20B is an exploded view of plug connector 150 shown in FIG. 20A;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart depicting steps associated with manufacturingconnector 150 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 22A-22H are simplified perspective views of connector 150 shown inFIGS. 20A and 18B at different stages of manufacture discussed withrespect to FIG. 21;

FIG. 23A is a simplified perspective view of a plug connector 190according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23B is an exploded view of connector plug 190 shown in FIG. 23A;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart depicting steps associated with manufacturingconnector 190 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 25A-25G are simplified perspective views of connector 190 shown inFIGS. 23A and 21B at different stages of manufacture discussed withrespect to FIG. 24;

FIG. 26A is a simplified perspective view of a flexible plug connector230 according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26B is an exploded view of plug connector 230;

FIGS. 27A-27G are simplified perspective views of connector 230 shown inFIGS. 26A and 24B at different stages of manufacture;

FIG. 28A is a simplified perspective view of a receptacle connector jack250 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 28B and 28C are front and bottom plan views of connector jack 250shown in FIG. 28A;

FIG. 29 is a simplified perspective view showing plug connector 110inserted into connector jack 250;

FIGS. 30A-30C illustrate different positions in which the contactoverhead associated with a receptacle connector according to the presentinvention may be positioned;

FIGS. 31A and 31B are front and bottom plan views of a receptacleconnector jack 200 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 32 is a simplified perspective view of a plug connector 300according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 33A-33C are simplified plan views of plug connector 300 shown inFIG. 32;

FIGS. 34A and 34B are diagrams depicting pin locations of connector 300in two different orientations according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 35 is a simplified exploded perspective view of a plug connector310 according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 36A and 36B are simplified top and side plan views of printedcircuit board 312 a shown in FIG. 35 according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart depicting steps associated with manufacturingconnector 310 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 38A-38P depicts various views of plug connector 310 at differentstages of manufacture discussed with respect to FIG. 37;

FIGS. 39A-39D depict various simplified views of a receptacle connectorjack 360 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 40A-40D depict various simplified views of a receptacle connectorjack 370 according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 41A-41G depicts various views of receptacle connector 360 atdifferent stages of manufacture;

FIG. 42 is a simplified perspective view of a connector plug 390according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 43 is a simplified perspective view of a connector plug 400according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 44A is a simplified partial cut-away perspective view of plugconnector 400 and FIG. 44B is a simplified cross-sectional view of plugconnector 400;

FIG. 45 is a simplified partial cut-away perspective view of plugconnector 400 inserted into a receptacle connector jack 420;

FIGS. 46A-46D illustrate one example of a connector 440 having fiveanalog contacts as well as a fiber optic cable 445 that runs through thecenter of the connector;

FIG. 47 is a simplified perspective view of a plug connector 150according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 48 is a simplified perspective view of a headset 510 that includesconnector 150 shown in FIG. 38 according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 49A is a diagram depicting pin locations of connector 150 operatingin a Mickey bus mode according to one embodiment of the invention andFIG. 49B is a diagram depicting the pin locations of connector 150operating in a legacy/backward compatible mode according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 50 is a simplified perspective view of a connector plug 170according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 51 is a simplified perspective view of a USB adapter cable 180having a USB connector at one end and connector 170 shown in FIG. 50 atthe other end according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 52 is a diagram depicting pin locations of connector plug 170 shownin FIG. 50 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 53 is a simplified perspective view of a connector plug 190according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 54 is a simplified perspective view of a audio/visual adapter cable200 having HDMI, USB and digital audio connectors at one end andconnector 190 at the other end according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 55 is a simplified perspective view of a audio/visual adapter cable210 having mini display port and USB connectors at one end and a similarto connector 50 at the other end according to another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 56 is a simplified perspective view of a audio/visual adapter cable220 having a mini display port connector at one end and a high speedconnector at the other end according to another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 57 is a diagram depicting pin locations of high speed connector 225shown in FIG. 56 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 58 is a simplified perspective view of a docking station 230 thatincludes a plug connector 235 according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 59 is a diagram depicting pin locations of connector plug 235 shownin FIG. 52 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 60 is a simplified illustrative block diagram of an electronicmedia device suitable in which embodiments of the invention may beincorporated or used with; and

FIG. 61 depicts an illustrative rendering of one particular embodimentof an electronic media device suitable for use with embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tocertain embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the presentinvention may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known details have not been describedin detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

In order to better appreciate and understand the present invention,reference is first made to FIGS. 3A-3C, which are simplified top, sideand front views, respectively, of a plug connector 40 according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Connector 40 includes a body 42 anda tab portion 44. A cable 43 is attached to body 42 and tab portion 44extends away from body 42 in a direction parallel to the length of theconnector 40. Tab 44 is sized to be inserted into a correspondingreceptacle connector during a mating event and includes a first contactregion 46 a formed on a first major surface 44 a and a second contactregion 46 b (not shown in FIGS. 3A-3C) formed at a second major surface44 b opposite surface 44 a. A plurality of contacts (not shown in FIGS.3A-3C) can be formed in each of contact regions 46 a and 46 b such that,when tab 44 is inserted into a corresponding receptacle connector,contacts in regions 46 a, 46 b are electrically coupled to correspondingcontacts in the receptacle connector. In some embodiments, the pluralityof contacts are self-cleaning wiping contacts that, after initiallycoming into contact with a receptacle connector contact during a matingevent, slide further past the receptacle connector contact with a wipingmotion before reaching a final, desired contact position.

Tab 44 also includes first and second opposing side surfaces 44 c, 44 dthat extend between the first and second major surfaces 44 a, 44 b.While tab 44 is shown in FIGS. 3A-3C as having a substantiallyrectangular and substantially flat shape, in some embodiments of theinvention first and second major surfaces 44 a, 44 b may have matchingconvex or concave curvatures to them or may have a matching recessedregion centrally located between the sides of tab 44. Contact regions 46a and 46 b may be formed in the recessed regions and the recessedregions may, for example, extend from the distal tip of tab 44 all theway to base 42 or may extend along only a portion of the length of tab44 (e.g., between ½ to ¾ of the length of the tab) ending at a pointshort of base 42. Side surfaces 44 c and 44 d may also have matchingconvex or concave curvatures.

Generally, the shape and curvature of surfaces 44 a and 44 b mirror eachother, as do the shape and curvature of surfaces 44 a and 44 b, inaccordance with the dual orientation design of connector 40 as describedbelow. Additionally, while FIGS. 3A-3C show surfaces 44 c, 44 d ashaving a width significantly less that that of surfaces 44 a, 44 b(e.g., less than or equal to one half width of surfaces 44 a, 44 b), insome embodiments of the invention side surfaces 44 c, 44 d have a widththat is relatively close to or even equal with or wider than that ofsurfaces 44 a, 44 b.

FIGS. 4A-4C are simplified front plan views of embodiments of connector40 in which body 42 and/or tab 44 have different cross-sectional shapes.For example, in FIG. 4A, major surfaces 44 a and 44 b are slightlyconvex, while in FIGS. 4B and 4C, side surfaces 44 c and 44 d arerounded. Further, FIG. 4C depicts an example of a connector havingrecessed regions 45 a and 45 b formed at major surfaces 44 a and 44 b,respectfully, of tab 44. The recessed regions extend from the distal tipof tab 44 along a portion of the length of tab 44 and are centrallylocated between side surfaces 44 c and 44 d. A person of skill in theart will understand that FIGS. 3C and 4A-4C are but examples of suitablecross-sectional shapes for body 42 and tab 44 and that many othercross-sectional shapes may be employed for each of body 42 and tab 44 invarious embodiments of the invention.

In some embodiments, one or more ground contacts can be formed on theside surfaces. For example, FIGS. 3A and 3B show a ground contact 47 aformed on first side surface 44 c and a ground contact 47 b formed onsecond side surface 44 d opposite ground contact 47 a. As anotherexample, one or more ground contacts may be formed on end surface 44 eat the distal tip of connector 40 in addition to, or instead of groundcontacts 47 a, 47 b. In some embodiments, each of the one or more groundcontacts can be formed on or form part of an outer portion of itsrespective side surface. In other embodiments, the one or more groundcontacts can be formed within and/or as part of a pocket, indentation,notch or similar recessed region forced on each of the side surfaces 44c, 44 d that operatively engage with a retention mechanism in acorresponding receptacle connector as described in detail below.

Body 42 is generally the portion of connector 40 that a user will holdonto when inserting or removing connector 40 from a correspondingreceptacle connector. Body 42 can be made out of a variety of materialsand in some embodiments is made from a dielectric material, such as athermoplastic polymer formed in an injection molding process. While notshown in FIG. 3A or 3B, a portion of cable 43 and a portion of tab 44may extend within and be enclosed by body 42. Also, electrical contactto the contacts in each of regions 46 a, 46 b can be made to individualwires in cable 43 within body 42. In one embodiment, cable 43 includes aplurality of individual insulated wires, one for each contact withinregions 46 a and 46 b, that are soldered to bonding pads on a printedcircuit board (PCB) housed within body 42. Each bonding pad on the PCBis electrically coupled to a corresponding individual contact within oneof contact regions 46 a or 46 b.

Tab 44 may also be made from a variety of materials including metal,dielectric or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, tab 44includes a frame made primarily or exclusively from a metal, such asstainless steel, and contact regions 46 a and 46 b are formed within theframe. In some other embodiments, tab 44 includes a frame made primarilyor exclusively from a dielectric material, such as a ceramic or anelastomeric material. For example, tab 44 may be a ceramic base that hascontacts printed directly on its surfaces.

In embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, body 42 has a rectangularcross section that generally matches in shape but is slightly largerthan the cross section of tab 44. As discussed with respect to FIGS.4A-4C, body 42 can be of a variety of shapes and sizes, however. Forexample, body 42 may have a rectangular cross section with rounded orangled edges (referred to herein as a “generally rectangular” crosssection), a circular cross section, an oval cross section as well asmany other suitable shapes. In some embodiments, both the body 42 andtab 44 of connector 40 have the same cross-sectional shape and have thesame width and height (thickness). As one example, body 42 and tab 44may combine to form a substantially flat, uniform connector where thebody and tab seem as one. In still other embodiments, the cross sectionof body 42 has a different shape than the cross section of tab 44. Asone example, body 42 may have curved upper and lower and/or curved sidesurfaces while tab 44 is substantially flat.

Each of contact regions 46 a, 46 b can be centered between opposing sidesurfaces 44 c, 44 d. Individual contacts in contact regions 46 a and 46b can be external contacts positioned at an outer surface of tab 44 sothat some embodiments of connector 40 do not include contacts positionedwithin an internal cavity in which particles and debris may collect.Each of contact regions 46 a and 46 b can include one or more contactsthat can be made from copper, nickel, brass, a metal alloy or any otherappropriate conductive material. In some embodiments contacts can beprinted on surfaces 44 a and 44 b using techniques similar to those usedto print contacts on printed circuit boards.

Contact regions 46 a and 46 b may include any number of contacts, fromone to twenty or more arranged in a variety of different patterns. FIGS.5A-5H provide different examples of contact arrangements within acontact region 46 according to different embodiments of the invention.As shown in FIG. 5A, contact region 46 may include two contacts 51(1)and 51(2) that are centered and symmetrically positioned within thecontact region. Similarly, FIG. 5B depicts a contact region 46 havingthree contacts 52(1) . . . 52(3) centered and symmetrically positionedwithin the contact region, and FIG. 5C depicts a contact region 46having four such contacts 53(1) . . . 53(4).

While each of FIGS. 5A-5C include a single row of contacts within region46, some embodiments of the invention may include two, three or morerows of contacts. As examples, contact region 46 shown in FIG. 5Dincludes two rows of four contacts 54(1) . . . 54(4) and 54(5) . . .54(8) with each row being centered between the sides of the contactregion and symmetrically spaced with respect to a center line traversingthe length of the contact region; FIG. 5E shows a contact region 46having a first row of three contacts 55(1) . . . 51(3) and a second rowof four contacts 55(4) . . . 55(7) positioned within the contact region;and FIG. 5F depicts a contact region 46 having three rows of threecontacts for a total of nine contacts 56(1) . . . 56(9).

While each row of individual contacts in the contact regions shown inFIGS. 5A-5F center the contacts in the row between the sides of thecontact region and symmetrically space the contacts with respect to acenter line traversing the length of the contact region, in someembodiments of the invention the contacts need not be centered in thismanner. As an example, FIG. 5G depicts a contact region 46 a having twocontacts 57(1) . . . 57(2) that are not centered within the contactregion. To provide the 180 degree symmetry employed by some embodimentsof the invention, a connector that includes the contact region 46 ashown in FIG. 5G on one major surface, includes a contact region 46 b asshown in FIG. 5H on the opposing major surface that matches contactregion 46 a. In FIG. 5H, contact region 46 b and contacts 57(3)-57(4)are shown in dashed lines to represent the position of the contacts whenlooking from contact region 46 a through the connector to contact region46 b.

Each of the contact regions 46 shown in FIGS. 5A-5G is representative ofboth regions 46 a and 46 b according to particular embodiments of theinvention. That is, according to one embodiment of the invention, a plugconnector 40 includes two contact regions 46 a and 46 b each of whichincludes two contacts as shown in region 46 in FIG. 5A. In anotherembodiment, a plug connector 40 includes contact regions 46 a and 46 beach of which includes three contacts as shown in FIG. 5B. Still otherembodiments of the invention include: a connector 40 having contactregions 46 a and 46 b as shown in region 46 in FIG. 5C; a connector 40having contact regions 46 a and 46 b as shown in region 46 in FIG. 5D; aconnector 40 having contact regions 46 a and 46 b as shown in region 46in FIG. 5E; a connector 40 having contact regions 46 a and 46 b as shownin region 46 in FIG. 5F; and a connector 40 having contact regions 46 aand 46 b as shown in region 46 in FIG. 5G.

Contacts within regions 46 a, 46 b may include contacts designated for awide variety of signals including power contacts, ground contacts,analog contacts and digital contacts among others. In some embodiments,one or more ground contacts are formed in regions 46 a and/or 46 b whilein other embodiments, ground contacts are only located at the tip 44 eand/or on the side surfaces 44 c, 44 d of connector 40 in order to savespace within contact regions 46 a and 46 b for power and signalcontacts. Embodiments that employ ground contacts at one or morepositions along the peripheral side and/or tip surfaces of connector 40instead of within contact regions 46 a and 46 b may enable the overallfootprint of connector tab 44 to be smaller than a similar connectorthat includes ground contacts in contact regions 46 a or 46 b.

Power contacts within regions 46 a, 46 b may carry signals of anyvoltage and, as an example, may carry signals between 2-30 volts. Insome embodiments, multiple power contacts are included in regions 46 a,46 b to carry power signals of different voltages levels that can beused for different purposes. For example, one or more contacts fordelivering low current power at 3.3 volts that can be used to poweraccessory devices connected to connector 40 can be included in regions46 a, 46 b as well as one or more contacts for delivering high currentpower at 5 volts for charging portable media devices coupled toconnector 40.

Examples of analog contacts that may be included in contact regions 46a, 46 b include contacts for separate left and right channels for bothaudio out and audio in signals as well as contacts for video signals,such as RGB video signals, YPbPr component video signals and others.Similarly, many different types of digital signals can be carried bycontacts in regions 46 a, 46 b including data signals such as, USBsignals (including USB 1.0, 2.0 and/or 3.0), FireWire (also referred toas IEEE 1394) signals, SATA signals and/or any other type of datasignal. Digital signals within contact regions 46 a, 46 b may alsoinclude signals for digital video such as DVI signals, HDMI signals andDisplay Port signals, as well as other digital signals that performfunctions that enable the detection and identification of devices oraccessories to connector 40.

In some embodiments, dielectric material is filled in between individualcontacts in contact regions 46 a, 46 b so that the dielectric materialand contacts form a completely flush outer surface of tab 44 thatprovides a smooth, consistent feel across the surfaces of tab 44.Additionally, to improve robustness and reliability, connector 40 can befully sealed and includes no moving parts.

Connector 40 can have a 180 degree symmetrical, double orientationdesign which enables the connector to be inserted into a correspondingreceptacle connector in both a first orientation where surface 44 a isfacing up or a second orientation where surface 44 a is rotated 180degrees and facing down. To allow for the orientation agnostic featureof connector 40, tab 44 is not polarized. That is, tab 44 does notinclude a physical key that is configured to mate with a matching key ina corresponding receptacle connector designed to ensure that matingbetween the two connectors occurs only in a single orientation. Instead,if tab 44 is divided into top and bottom halves along a horizontal planethat bisects the center of tab 44 along its width, the physical shape ofthe upper half of tab 44 is substantially the same as the physical shapeof the lower half. Similarly, if tab 44 is divided into left and righthalves along a vertical plane that bisects the center of tab along itslength, the physical shape of the left half of tab 44 is substantiallythe same as the shape of the right half. Additionally, contacts can bepositioned within contact regions 46 a and 46 b so that individualcontacts in region 46 a are arranged symmetric with the individualcontacts in region 46 b located on the opposite side of tab 44, andground contacts formed at the tip or on the sides of connector tab 44can also be arranged in a symmetric manner.

To better understand and appreciate the 180 degree symmetrical design ofsome embodiments of the invention, reference is made to FIGS. 6A and 6Bwhich are simplified views of a first side 44 a and an opposing secondside 44 b, respectively, of a plug connector 50 according to a specificembodiment of the invention that includes four individual contactsformed within each of contact regions 46 a and 46 b. For example, asshown in FIG. 6A, contact region 46 a may include four evenly spacedcontacts 53(1) . . . 53(4) formed within the region. With respect to acenter plane 59 that is perpendicular to and passes through the middleof connector 50 along its length, contacts 53(1) and 53(2) are in amirrored relationship with contacts 53(3) and 53(4). That is, thespacing from center line 59 to contact 53(2) is the same as the spacingfrom center line 59 to contact 53(3). Also, the spacing from center line59 to contact 53(1) is the same as the spacing from centerline 59 tocontact 53(4). Each of the pairs of contacts 53(1), 53(2) and 53(3),53(4) are also spaced equally from the sides 44 c and 44 d of theconnector with respect to each other and are spaced equally along thelength of tab 44 between end surface 44 e and body 42.

Similarly, in FIG. 6B contact region 44 b includes the same number ofcontacts as region 44 a that are also spaced according to the samespacing in region 44 a. Thus, contact region 44 b includes four contacts53(5) . . . 53(8) spaced within region 46 b according to the same layoutand spacing as contacts 53(1) . . . 53(4) within regions 46 a. Becausethe layout and spacing of contacts in regions 46 a and 46 b areidentical, absent some sort of indicia or mark on one of surfaces 44 aor 44 b, the surfaces and contact layout on each of surfaces 44 a, 44 blooks the same. When connector 50 is inserted into a correspondingreceptacle connector, the contacts in regions 46 a, 46 b will makeproper electrical contact with contacts in the receptacle connector ineither of two different orientations (referred to herein as “up” or“down” for convenience but it is to be appreciated that these arerelative terms intended to connote a 180 degree change in theorientation of the connector only).

To further illustrate, reference is now made to FIGS. 7A and 7B, whichschematically show a cross-sectional view of plug connector 50 havingfour contacts in each of regions 46 a, 46 b as depicted in FIGS. 6A and6B inserted into a matching receptacle connector 60. Receptacleconnector 60 includes a cavity 64 into which the tab of the plugconnector can be inserted. Four contacts 61(1) . . . 61(4) extend fromone in surface of the receptacle connector into cavity 64 and fourcontacts 61(5) . . . 61(8) extend from the opposing interior surfaceinto cavity 64 in an oppositional and mirrored relationship to contacts61(1) . . . 61(4).

FIG. 7A depicts that when the connector 50 is inserted into cavity 65 inan “up” position, contact 53(1) of the plug connector aligns withcontact 61(1) of the receptacle connector, contact 53(2) aligns withcontact 61(2), contact 53(3) aligns with contact 61(3) and contact 53(4)aligns with contact 61(4). FIG. 7A also shows that, on the opposingsurface, contact 53(5) aligns with contact 61(5), contact 53(6) alignswith contact 61(6), contact 53(7) aligns with contact 61(7) and contact53(8) aligns with contact 61(8). When the plug connector is insertedinto receptacle connector 60 in a “down” position, as shown in FIG. 7B,each contact in the plug connector still properly aligns with a contactin the receptacle connector. The contacts align differently, however, asfollows: contact 53(5) of the plug connector aligns with contact 61(1)of the receptacle connector, contact 53(6) aligns with contact 61(2),contact 53(7) aligns with contact 61(3) and contact 53(8) aligns withcontact 61(4), while on the opposing surface, contact 53(1) aligns withcontact 61(5), contact 53(2) aligns with contact 61(6), contact 53(3)aligns with contact 61(7) and contact 53(4) aligns with contact 61(8).Additionally, when plug connector 50 includes side ground contacts 53 a,53 b, each side contact aligns with a corresponding side ground contact61 a, 61 b from receptacle connector 60 in either of the two possibleinsertion orientations as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

Thus, whether connector 50 is inserted into receptacle connector 60 ineither the “up” or “down” position, proper electrical contact is madebetween the contacts in the plug connector and the receptacle connector.Embodiments of the invention further pertain to a receptacle connectorthat includes circuitry that switches the functionality of its pinsbased on the orientation of the plug connector. In some embodiments, asensing circuit in the receptacle connector or the electronic device inwhich the receptacle connector is housed, can detect the orientation ofthe plug connector and set software and/or hardware switches to switchinternal connections to the contacts in the receptacle connector andproperly match the receptacle connector's contacts to the plugconnector's contacts as appropriate. In some embodiments the orientationof the plug connector can be detected based on a physical orientationkey (different from a polarization key in that an orientation key doesnot prevent the plug connector from being inserted into the receptacleconnector in multiple orientations) that, depending on the orientationof the plug connector, engages or does not engage with a correspondingorientation contact in the receptacle connector. Circuitry connected tothe orientation contact can then determine which of the two possibleorientations the plug connector was inserted into the receptacleconnector.

As an example, reference is now made to FIGS. 8A-8C, which showsimplified top, bottom and side plan views of a plug connector 70according to another embodiment of the present invention along withFIGS. 9A and 9B, which are simplified schematic views of plug connector70 inserted within a receptacle connector 80. Connector 70 includescontact regions 46 a and 46 b formed on opposing major surfaces of theconnector that may contain any reasonable number of contacts. Forexample, in the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 9A, connector 70 isan audio plug connector and each of contact regions 46 a and 46 binclude two contacts: a microphone contact and right audio contact inregion 46 a, and a left audio contact and a ground contact in region 46b. When connector 70 is mated with receptacle connector 80, anorientation key 72 on the plug connector engages (or doesn't engage)with a corresponding orientation contact 86 within receptacle connector80.

Circuitry operatively coupled to the receptacle connector can setsoftware and/or hardware switches to properly match the receptacleconnector's contacts to the contacts of plug connector 70. For example,a software switch can be used to switch the connector jack's contactsfor left and right audio depending on the insertion orientation while ahardware switch can be used to switch the connector jacks microphone andground contacts to match the contacts of connector 70. In otherembodiments, both switches can be implemented in software or bothswitches can be implemented in hardware. A comparison of FIGS. 9A to 9Billustrates the switching of the receptacle contacts depending onwhether or not orientation contact 86 is engaged (FIG. 9B) or notengaged (FIG. 9A), where for ease of illustration, the labels of theswitched contacts are underlined and depicted in a larger font.

As another example, connector 70 can be a six contact audio plugconnector with each of contact regions 46 a, 46 b including threecontacts as shown in FIGS. 9C-9D: a microphone contact, a firstdedicated ground contact and a right audio contact are within region 46a; while a left audio contact, a second dedicated ground contact and asecond dedicated microphone contact are located within region 46 b. Thefirst and second ground contacts and first and second microphonecontacts align with ground and microphone contacts of the correspondingconnector jack 80 regardless of the insertion orientation of connector70. Thus, this embodiment can be carried out with a single switch, thatcan be implemented in software or hardware to switch the connectorjack's contacts for left and right audio depending on the insertionorientation which can be detected by orientation contact 86 within thereceptacle connector.

As shown in FIGS. 8A-8C, connector 70 can also include retentionfeatures 74 a, 74 b on opposing side surfaces of the connector.Retention features can operate to secure connector 70 in a correspondingreceptacle connector as discussed below with respect to FIGS. 12A and12B. Notably, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A-8C, retention feature74 b and orientation key 72 combine to form a single extended cutout onthe side 44 d of connector 70. In other embodiments, the retentionfeature(s) and orientation key can be completely separated from eachother and even be included on separate surfaces. For example, in oneembodiment orientation key 72 can be located on one of major surfaces 44a or 44 b while the retention features can be located on one or both ofside surfaces 44 c and 44 d.

In other embodiments, the plug connector does not include an orientationkey and the orientation of the connector can instead be detected bycircuitry associated with the corresponding receptacle connector basedon signals received over the contacts. As one example, variousaccessories such as headsets for cellular phones include a microphoneand allow a user to perform basic functions such as setting earphonevolume and answering and ending calls with the push of a button on theaccessory. A single wire, serial control chip can be used to communicatewith the host electronic device and implement this functionality. Thechip is connected to the microphone contact (e.g., contact 112 b shownin FIG. 14A) and, when the plug connector is inserted into thereceptacle jack, can talk to appropriate circuitry in the jack connectoror host device. Upon an insertion event, the host device sends anAcknowledgment signal to the serial control chip over the contact in thereceptacle connector designated for the microphone and waits for aResponse signal. If a Response signal is received, the contacts arealigned properly and audio and other signals can be transferred betweenthe connectors. If no response is received, the host device flips thesignals to correspond to the second possible orientation (i.e., flipsthe signals 180 degrees) and repeats the Acknowledgement/Response signalroutine.

In the four contact embodiment of a plug connector 70 shown in FIG. 9E,left and right audio contacts are always in physically reversiblepositions while each of the other two contacts is designated as amicrophone contact. In this embodiment, a physical orientation key inthe plug connector, such as key 72, can be detected by an orientationcontact or other appropriate mechanism in the receptacle connector todetermine the orientation of the plug, and a hardware or software switchcan set the receptacle connector contacts as appropriate for left andright audio to correspond to the plug connector contacts. In theembodiment of plug connector 70 shown in FIG. 9F, a contact 75 isconnected to ground through, for example, a ground ring 102 (describedwith respect to FIGS. 10A-10B). When the connector is first plugged intoa receptacle connector, circuitry associated with the receptacleconnector or the electronic device in which the connector is houseddetects the position of the grounded contact and switches the receptaclecontacts to an appropriate orientation.

To facilitate the dual orientation feature of certain embodiments of theinvention, contacts within contact regions 46 a, 46 b can be arrangedsuch that similarly purposed contacts are located on opposite sides ofthe connector tab in a cater cornered arrangement. For example,referring back to FIG. 7A, contact 53(1) is in a cater corneredarrangement with contact 53(5) while contact 53(2) is in a catercornered relationship with contact 53(6). Similarly purposed contactsare contacts that are designated to carry similar signals. Examples ofsimilarly purposed contact pairs may include, first and second powercontacts, left and right audio out contacts, first and second groundcontacts, a pair of data differential contacts, and/or first and seconddigital contacts. Because of the symmetrical relationship between thecontacts, such a cater cornered relationship ensures that for each pairof similarly purposed contacts in a cater cornered relationship, one ofthe similarly purposed contacts will be electrically connected to acontact in the receptacle connector that is either dedicated to theparticular contact or can be readily switched to the particular contact.As an example, where contacts 53(1) and 53(5) are similarly purposedcontacts that are dedicated to left and right audio out signals,respectively, when plug connector 50 is inserted into receptacleconnector 60, one of the audio out contacts will be in electricalcontact with receptacle contact 61(1) and the other of the audio outcontacts will be in electrical contact with receptacle contact 61(5)regardless of whether the plug connector is mated with the receptacleconnector in an “up” or “down” insertion orientation. Thus, both thereceptacle contacts 61(1) and 61(5) can be audio contacts ensuring thatthey will be electrically coupled to an audio contact in the plugconnector regardless of its insertion orientation.

While FIGS. 7A-7B depict a particular embodiment of the invention withan even number of contacts in each of contact regions 46 a and 46 b,some embodiments of the invention may include an odd number of contactsin each of regions 46 a, 46 b. In such embodiments, one of the contactson each side of the plug connector is a central contact that is centeredaround bisecting line 59 a and thus aligns with a centrally locatedreceptacle contact in both the “up” and “down” positions. The centralcontacts are not in a cater cornered arrangement but are in asymmetrical arrangement and can be similarly purposed contacts accordingto some embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate this aspect of certain embodiments of theinvention and depict a plug connector 70 having three contacts 52(1) . .. 52(3) and 52(4) . . . 52(6) formed on the upper and lower surfaces oftab 44 of the plug connector, respectively. When the connector tab isinserted into a corresponding receptacle connector 80 in an “up”position, contacts 52(1) . . . 52(3) align with contacts 81(1) . . .81(3) of the receptacle connector, respectively, and contacts 52(4) . .. 52(6) align with contacts 81(4) . . . 81(6), respectively. When theconnector tab is inserted into receptacle connector 80 in a “down”position, contacts 52(4) . . . 52(6) align with contacts 81(1) . . .81(3) of the receptacle connector, respectively, and contacts 52(1) . .. 52(3) align with contacts 81(4) . . . 81(6), respectively. In bothorientations, plug connector contacts 52(2) and 52(5) align with one ofthe central receptacle contacts 81(2) or 81(5).

Plug connector 40 can be designed to be inserted into a matchingreceptacle connector, such as receptacle connector 80, along aninsertion axis. In some embodiments of the invention, at least a portionof the plug connector is made from a flexible material so that theconnector can readily bend off-axis. As an example, FIG. 11A shows asimplified side cross-sectional view of a connector 90 similar toconnector 40 that is intended to be inserted into a receptacle connectoralong an insertion axis 95. Tab 44 of connector 90 includes a flexiblecarrier member 92 that extends the length of tab 44 along with contacts(not shown) formed on each of the opposing surfaces 44 a, 44 b ofconnector 90 that can flex with carrier member 92. As an example, thecontacts can be part of a flex circuit that is bonded to flexiblecarrier member 92. Flexible carrier 92 and the flexible contacts allowtab 44 to be bent along a direction 94 into a deformed shape as shown inFIG. 11B when the connector is mated with a receptacle connector 97(i.e., positioned with an insertion cavity 98 of the receptacleconnector) and subject to strain by being pulled in a direction 96 thatintersects insertion axis 95. As soon as the strain is relieved, tab 44returns to its normal shape shown in FIG. 11A. In this manner, whenconnector 90 is pulled out of its receptacle connector by pulling atleast partially sideways (e.g., along direction 96 as opposed to pullingalong axis 95) on either body 42 or the cable (not shown) attached tobody 42, plug connector 90 can bend and pull out of the receptacleconnector rather than binding within it or eventually breaking.

In one particular embodiment, flexible carrier 92 is a sheet ofsuperelastic material, such as nitinol (an alloy of nickel and titaniumpresent in roughly equal amounts) and the flexible contacts are part ofa flex circuit adhered to the superelastic sheet. Nitinol alloys exhibitelasticity some 10-30 times that of ordinary metal which enables it toflex under very high strain without breaking. The flex circuit mayinclude, for example, metal contacts screen printed on a thin polyamideor PEEK (polyether ether ketone) layer. The flex circuit may be madefrom two separate pieces each of which is directly adhered to one sideof the nitinol sheet or may be a single piece wrapped around theperimeter of the nitinol sheet or made into a sleeve that fits over thenitinol sheet.

Embodiments of the invention that include this flexibilitycharacteristic are not limited to the use of any particular superelasticmaterial and can instead use any material that deforms reversibly tovery high strains and returns to its original shape when the load isremoved without requiring a change of temperature to regain its originalshape. Some embodiments of the invention may use flexible materials forcarrier 92 that are not superelastic. For example, carrier 92 or tab 44itself can be made from an elastomer or polyurethane in someembodiments.

When connector plug 90 is engaged with a corresponding receptacleconnector and extracted at an angle to the insertion axis, more force istypically applied to the base of the connector than at its tip. Toaddress this discrepancy, in some embodiments the flexibility of carrier92 varies along the length of the carrier so that, for example, it ismore flexible near the base portion or proximal end of the connectorwhere it meets body 42 and less flexible near the distal end of theconnector. Flexibility can be varied in this manner by, among othertechniques, varying the materials along the length of the connector,varying the thickness of the flexible carrier along its length orvarying the shape of the flexible carrier along its length or anycombination of these approaches. For example, in one embodiment carrier92 may include a superelastic sheet near its base and a polyurethanesheet near its distal end. The superelastic and polyurethane sheets mayoverlap and be adhered together in an area between the proximal anddistal ends. In one particular embodiment, carrier 92 comprises twosheets of polyurethane near the distal end of tab 44 and a single sheetof nitinol near the base of tab 44 where the tab joins body 42. At apoint approximately one third of the length of the connector from thedistal end, the nitinol sheet is sandwiched between the two polyurethanesheets for a portion of the length.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 12A and 12B, which are simplified top andside views of a plug connector 100 according to another embodiment ofthe invention. Plug connector 100 includes many of the same features asplug connector 40 but further includes a cap 102, and first and secondretention features 104 a and 104 b, respectively, near a distal tip ofthe connector. Cap 102 can be made from a metal or other conductivematerial and can extend from the distal tip of connector 100 along theside of the connector towards body 42 either fully or partiallysurrounding contacts formed in contact regions 46 a and 46 b in the Xand Y directions. Cap 102 can be grounded in order to minimizeinterference that may otherwise occur on the contacts of connector 100.In one embodiment, cap 102 may be a u-shaped frame having a thicknessthat is equivalent to the thickness (T) of connector 100. In anotherembodiment, cap 102 covers the entirety of tab 44 except for contactregions 46 a, 46 b and thus defines the shape of tab 44. Cap 102 issometimes referred to herein as a ground ring and those two terms areintended to be used interchangeably. Cap 102 can be formed in a varietyof ways and in one embodiment can be die cast from a metal, such asstainless steel, that can be slid over and attached to the end ofconnector tab 44 thus partially or fully surrounding contact regions 46a and 46 b at the tip and sides of the connector.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show two different embodiments of cap 102. In FIG.13A, cap 102 is a u-shaped frame that can be attached to or slid overthe end of the connector. Cap 102 includes side portions 102 a, 102 bthat may have varying lengths in different embodiments. In someembodiments sides 102 a, 102 b extend past contact regions 46 a, 46 ball the way to the body 42 of the connector. In other embodiments thesides may extend past contact regions 46 a, 46 b but not all the way tobody 42 (as shown in FIG. 12A); may extend exactly to the end of contactregions 46 a, 46 b or may be relatively short and extend only partiallyalong the length of the contact regions. Contact regions 46 a, 46 b liebetween the opposing sides 102 a, 102 b. In still other embodiments, capor ground ring 102 defines the exterior shape of tab 44 completelysurrounding the contact regions 46 at the outer surfaces of theconnector as shown in FIG. 13B.

Referring back to FIGS. 12A and 12B, retention features 104 a, 104 b areformed on the opposing sides of connector 100 and are part of aretention system that includes one or more features on the plugconnector that are adapted to engage with one or more features on thecorresponding receptacle connector to secure the connectors togetherwhen the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector. Inthe illustrated embodiment, retention features 104 a, 104 b aresemi-circular indentations in the side surfaces of tab 44 that extendfrom surface 44 a to surface 44 b. The retention features may be widelyvaried and may include angled indentations or notches, pockets that areformed only at the side surfaces and do not extend to either of thesurfaces 44 a, 44 b upon which contact regions 46 a, 46 b are formed, orother recessed regions. The retention features are adapted to engagewith a retention mechanism on the receptacle connector that can besimilarly widely varied. The retention mechanism(s) may be, for example,one or more springs that includes a tip or surface that fits withinindentations 104 a, 104 b, one or more spring loaded detents, or similarlatching mechanisms. The retention system, including retention features104 a, 104 b and the corresponding retention mechanism on the receptacleconnector, can be designed to provide specific insertion and extractionforces such that the retention force required to insert the plugconnector into the receptacle connector is higher than the extractionforce required to remove the plug connector from the receptacleconnector.

While retention features 104 a, 104 b are shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B ashaving a female mating characteristic and the retention mechanism wasdescribed above as having a male characteristic that is moved into theretention features 104 a, 104 b, in other embodiments these roles maydiffer. For example, in one embodiment, retention features 104 a, 104 bmay be spring loaded projections that engage with a female retentionmechanism on the receptacle connector. In still other embodiments, oneof features 104 a, 104 b may be male-oriented while the other offeatures 104 a, 104 b is female-oriented. In other embodiments, otherretention mechanisms can be used such as mechanical or magnetic latchesor orthogonal insertion mechanisms. Additionally, while retentionfeatures 104 a and 104 b are shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B as being formedin metal cap 102, in embodiments of the invention that do not include ametal cap or ground ring, the retention features can be formed inwhatever structure or material makes up tab 44.

Retention features 104 a, 104 b can also be located at a variety ofpositions along connector 100 including along the side surfaces of tab44 and/or top and bottom surfaces of tab 44. In some embodiments,retention features 104 a, 104 b can be located on a front surface 42 aof body 42 and adapted to engage with a retention mechanism located on afront exterior surface of the receptacle connector. In the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, retention features 104 a, 104 b arepositioned within the last third of the length of tab 44. The inventorshave determined that positioning the retention features andcorresponding latching mechanism in the receptacle connector near theend of the plug connector helps to better secure the connector sidewayswhen it is in an engaged position within the receptacle connector.

The description of various embodiments of the invention set forth abovewith respect to FIGS. 3A-13B describes a number of different features,aspects and variations of different embodiments of the invention. Togain a further understanding of the invention, numerous additionalembodiments and examples of the invention including both audio connectorand data connector embodiments are discussed below that include some orall of the features already mentioned as well as additional features.The various embodiments discussed below include many features in commonwith embodiments already discussed and with each other. As a matter ofconvenience such common features are often, but not always, referred towith the same reference number. Additionally, in the discussion below,reference to a connector having a specific number of contacts generallyrefers to the number of contacts on the opposing major surfaces of theconnector and does not include any ground or other contacts formed onthe tip and/or sides of the connector.

FIG. 14A is a simplified perspective view of a four contact plugconnector 110 according to an embodiment of the invention while FIGS.14B-14D are simplified top, side and bottom plan views, respectively, ofconnector 110. As shown connector 110 includes a tab 44 that extendsfrom body 42. Tab 44 has a front major surface 44 a upon which twocontacts 112 a and 112 b are positioned and a back major surface 44 bupon which two contacts 112 c and 112 d are located.

The contacts can be made from a copper, nickel, brass, a metal alloy orany other appropriate conductive material. Spacing is consistent betweeneach pair of contacts 112 a, 112 b and 112 c, 112 d providing 180 degreesymmetry so that plug connector 110 can be inserted into a correspondingreceptacle connector in either of two orientations. In one particularembodiment, connector 110 is an audio plug connector and contact 112 ais a left audio contact, contact 112 b is a microphone contact, contact112 c is a right audio contact and contact 112 d is a second, redundantmicrophone contact. Embodiments of the invention are not limited to anyparticular contact arrangement, however, and can be designated for othersignals. In another four contact plug connector embodiment, connector110 is a data connector and each of contacts 112 a-112 d can bedesignated for data signals. For example, contacts 112 a and 112 b canbe designated for a first pair of differential data signals (e.g., datatransmit) while contacts 112 c and 112 d can be designated for a secondpair of differential data signals (e.g., data receive). In otherembodiments, contacts 112 a-112 d can be designated for a wide varietyof other signal types.

Metal ground ring 102 defines the shape of tab 44 and surrounds thecontacts 112 a-112 d along an outer periphery of the tab. Twosemi-circular notches 104 a and 104 b, are formed in ground ring 102 andlocated on opposing sides 44 c and 44 d of the tab near its distal end.In operation, tab 44 is inserted into a receptacle connector (e.g.,shown in FIGS. 28A-28C) until notches 104 a and 104 b operatively engagewith a retention mechanism, such as a cantilevered spring or detent.

In the engaged position, each of contacts 112 a-112 d is in electricalcontact with a corresponding contact in the receptacle connector. Tab 44has a 180 degree symmetrical, double orientation design which enablesthe connector to be inserted into the connector jack with either surface44 a or 44 b on top. Additionally, the two audio contacts 112 a and 112c are located on opposite sides of the connector in a cater corneredarrangement. Thus, microphone contact 112 d is located directly oppositeaudio contact 112 a and microphone contact 112 b is located directlyopposite audio contact 112 c. In this manner, an audio contact is alwayson the right side of the connector and a microphone contact is always onthe left side of the connector (as oriented from the connector base tothe distal end). A sensing circuit in the receptacle connector or theelectronic device in which the receptacle connector is housed, candetect the direction that the contacts 112 a-112 d are set and switchinternal connections to the contacts in the connector jack appropriatelyas described above.

As shown in FIGS. 14A-14D, contacts 112 a-112 d are external contactsand connector 110 does not include an exposed cavity in which particlesand debris may collect. To improve robustness and reliability, connector110 is fully sealed and includes no moving parts. Furthermore, connector110 has a considerably reduced insertion depth and insertion width ascompared to commonly available TRS and TRRS connectors. In oneparticular embodiment, tab 52 of connector 50 has a width, X, of about 2mm; a thickness, Y, of about 1 mm; and a insertion depth, Z, of about 4mm. In another embodiment, tab 52 of connector 50 has a width, X, of 4.1mm; a thickness, Y, of 1.5 mm; and a insertion depth, Z, of 5.75 mm.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 15A-15E, which show perspective views ofconnector 110 at various stages of manufacture. As shown in FIG. 15A,within connector 110 is a dielectric frame 120 that supports contacts112 a-112 d. Frame 120 can be made from any appropriate dielectricmaterial, such as polypropylene, and includes respective slots (notlabeled) on the upper and lower surfaces of the frame through which eachof contacts 112 a-112 d are threaded to better support the contacts. Inother embodiments, frame 120 can be made from a ceramic material andcontacts 112 a-112 d can be printed directly onto the frame.

Frame 120 also includes grooves 122 partially surrounding an outerperiphery at a distal tip of the frame as well as reliefs 124 a, 124 bthat are positioned to align with notches 104 a, 104 b formed in themetal ground ring 102. Wires 126, one per contact, extend from a cable43 are soldered to connection pads 128 a-128 d for each of the contacts122 a-112 d as shown in FIG. 15B. The metal ground ring 102, which inthe embodiment shown in FIG. 15C is a U-shaped frame die cast fromstainless steel, is then slid over the distal end of the connector suchthat slots along an interior surface of the metal ring extend into thegrooves 122 and a base portion 102 b of the ground ring covers thesoldered connection pads 128 a-128 d electrically coupled to contacts112 a-112 d.

The connector is then overmolded (FIG. 15D) with thermoplastic polymer130 or similar material to provide strain relief and insulation 132,e.g., POM, is injected around the contacts. Finally, an ABS or similarshell 134 is positioned over and fastened or bonded to the base 102(b)of the tab 102 as shown in FIG. 15E using an appropriate adhesive orother technique to form body 42 and complete formation of the connector.

In another embodiment, the conductive ground ring 102 can be made from ahigh strength steel alloy or similar material. The ground ring can beformed in an extrusion process where the high strength conductivematerial is extruded through a mushroom shape mold to form a straightmetal piece 135 having a mushroom shaped cross-section as shown in FIG.16A. A stem section 136 of the ground ring can be designed to mate withgrooves 122 positioned along the outer periphery of dielectric frame 120when the ground ring is attached to frame 120. Extruded piece 135 canthen be cut to length and notched to form u-shaped notches 104 a, 104 bthat align with reliefs 124 a, 124 b in frame 120 prior to being bentinto the U-shape ground ring 102 as shown in FIG. 16B. Stem section 136of the U-shaped ground ring 102 can then be aligned with grooves 122 ofthe dielectric frame so that the ground ring can be slid over the end offrame 120 and welded, glued or otherwise bonded to the variouscomponents of the connector (the particular bonding method beingselected based on the materials being connected) as shown in FIG. 16C,which for simplicity omits various features of the connector such ascontacts 112 a-112 d.

FIG. 17A is a simplified perspective view of an audio plug connector 140according to another embodiment of the present invention. Connector 140is similar to connector 110 except that it has been reinforced at thebase of tab 44 to stiffen the connector and increase its strength in aside-load condition. Specifically, connector 140 has a thicker baseportion 102(b) underneath outer shell 134 that forms body 42. Achamfered edge 142 extends between the thicker base portion to aconnector portion of tab 44. To keep the insertion depth, Z, of theconnector the same as that of connector 110, each of the contacts 112a-112 d have a reduced length in connector 140 as compared to connector110. While none of the figures herein are not meant to represent exactdimensions of the connectors, the reduced length can be seen generallyby comparing FIG. 17A to FIG. 14A, which shows connector 110.

FIG. 18, is a simplified cross-sectional view of connector 140 alonglines A-A′ shown in FIG. 17D. As evident from the cross-sectional view,ground ring 102 forms a tip 143 of the connector as well as chamferededge 142. Insulators 144 and 145, which can be a single part or separateparts and can be made from a thermoplastic or similar material, encirclethe base and tip of the tab portion of connector 140, respectively, forcosmetic purposes. Insulator 144 also extends within the body ofconnector 140, underneath ground ring 102 to provide the thicker baseportion. In one particular embodiment, insulators 144, 145 are made frompolyoxy methylene (POM) plastic. A dielectric frame 148 runs throughconnector 140 to provide support for contacts 112 a-112 d. Wires 146 aresoldered to each of the contacts 112 a-112 d within a cavity 149 formedat a connection pad coupled to the contacts that is surrounded byovermolding 147. In other embodiments, shown as separate examples inFIGS. 19A and 19B (which show an expanded view of chamfer portion 142 oftab 44 along with a portion of outer shell 134), insulator 144interlocks with the ground ring to provide a more secure connectionbetween insulator 144 and the ground ring.

Reference is now made to FIG. 20A, which is a simplified perspectiveview of a four contact plug connector 150 according to anotherembodiment of the invention. Connector 150 is generally similar toconnector 110 shown in FIG. 14a except that body 42 and tab 44 ofconnector 150 have features that are generally more rectangular thansimilar features in connector 110 and connector 150 includes pockets 152formed on the sides of tab 44 as retention feature rather thansemi-circular notches. As shown in FIG. 20A, the edges of body 42 ofconnector 150 are less rounded and more rectangular than those of body42 of connector 110. Similarly, the edges of tab 44 in connector 150 arealso less rounded and more rectangular than those of tab 44 in connector110 and the tab in connector 150 is shorter and stubbier than that ofconnector 110.

Indentations or pockets 152 a, 152 b on each side of the connector inground ring 102 act as retention features, and function similarly tonotches 104 a, 104 b in connector 110. Pockets 152 a, 152 b are adaptedto operatively engage with a retention mechanism when the connector ismated with a corresponding receptacle connector. The retention mechanismfits within pockets 152 a, 152 b and provides a retention force thatsecures connector 100 to the matching receptacle connector. In additionto their retention feature, pockets 152 a, 152 b are part of metalground ring 102 and serve as ground contacts, such as contacts 47 a and47 b described with respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

Reference is now made to FIG. 20B, which is an exploded view ofconnector 150, along with FIG. 21, which is a flow chart thatillustrates steps associated with the manufacture of connector 150according to one embodiment of the invention, and FIGS. 22A-22G, whichdepict connector 150 at the various stages of manufacture set forth inFIG. 19. The manufacture of connector 150 can start with theconstruction of a flex circuit 160 having flex contacts 162 a and 162 bformed on an upper surface and a similar pair of flex contacts (notshown in the figures) formed on a lower surface as shown in FIG. 22A(FIG. 21, step 170). Flex contact 162 a is electrically coupled to asolder landing 164 a where a signal wire can be soldered to the contactby a trace (not shown) on the flex circuit. Similarly, flex contact 162b is electrically coupled to a solder landing 164 b by a trace on flexcircuit 160.

In one embodiment, flex circuit 160 is made from two substantiallyidentical flex circuits 160 a, 160 b adhered together. For example, afirst flex circuit 160 a with flex contacts 162 a and 162 b formed onits upper surface and no contacts formed on its opposing surface isadhered to a second flex circuit 160 b with two flex contacts (not shownbut similar to contacts 162 a and 162 b) formed on its upper surface andno contacts formed on its opposing surface. The two surfaces without thecontacts are then joined together to form an assembled flex circuit 160that has flex contacts 162 a, 162 b on a first surface and two matchingcontacts 162 c, 162 d on its opposite surface.

Contact pucks 166 a and 166 b can then be attached to the flex circuitat contact areas 162 a, 162 b, respectively, while contact pucks 166 cand 166 d can be attached to contact areas on the other side of flexcircuit 160 (FIG. 21, step 172 and FIG. 22B). Pucks 166 a-166 d can bemade from a variety of conductive materials and in one embodiment arenickel-plated brass. Pucks 166 a-166 d can be cut to size in a stampingor similar process from a metal sheet and can be attached to flexcircuit 160 using surface mount technology. Next, flex circuit 160 canbe inserted into ground ring 102 (FIG. 21, step 174 and FIG. 22C) and athermoplastic or similar dielectric overmold 163 can formed around thecontacts to provide smooth and substantially flat upper and lowersurfaces of tab portion 44 of the connector and provide a finished look(FIG. 21, step 176 and FIG. 22D). In one embodiment, dielectric overmold163 is formed with an injection molding process using polyoxymethylene(POM).

A cable bundle 43 having four individual and insulated signal wires 161,one for each of the contacts of connector 150, can then be attached tothe ground ring/flex circuit assembly as shown in FIG. 22E by solderingeach of the wires 161 to its respective solder landing, e.g., solderlandings 164 a-164 d (FIG. 21, step 178). At this stage of manufacturethe end of a jacket 157 of cable bundle 43 is spaced apart from flexcircuit 160 in an oppositional relationship. An inner dielectric jacket165 is then formed around much of the assembly using an injectionmolding or similar process (FIG. 21, step 180 and FIG. 22F). Innerjacket 165 includes a generally circular end portion 167 that covers acouple centimeters or more of cable bundle 43 and a connector portion169 that, combined with ground ring 102, forms a substantiallymonolithic base portion 159 of connector 150. Inner jacket 165 providesstructure and strain relief for connector 150 and can be made from adielectric material such as an elastomer or a polyproplylene material.

The construction of connector 150 can then be completed by sliding anouter shell 134 around the monolithic base portion 159 covering an endbase portion 102 b of ground ring 102 and inner jacket 165 (FIG. 20,step 182 and FIG. 219G). Outer shell 134 can be adhered to the groundring and inner jacket using any appropriate adhesive suitable for theparticular materials being bonded.

FIG. 23A is a simplified perspective view of a plug connector 190according to another embodiment of the invention. Connector 190 includesmany features similar in design and function as that of connector 150discussed above. For example, connector 190 includes a tab 44 havingfour contacts 112 a-112 d formed at its outer surface and arranged onopposing sides of the connector. Tab 44 includes a ground ring 102 thatsurrounds contacts 112 a-112 d and includes indentations or pockets 152a, 152 b of each side of the connector tab are adapted to operativelyengage with a retention mechanism when the connector is mated with acorresponding receptacle connector. Connector 190 differs from connector150 by including a chambered edge 192 between the tab and the body thatstrengthens the connector under side-load forces similar to chamferededge 142 of connector 140.

Reference is now made to FIG. 23B, which is an exploded view ofconnector 190, along with FIG. 24, which is a flow chart thatillustrates steps associated with the manufacture of connector 190according to one embodiment of the invention and FIGS. 25A-25H, whichdepict connector 190 at the various stages of manufacture set forth inFIG. 24. The manufacture of connector 190 can start with the formationof a contact frame 194 that carries four contact strips 196 a-196 d, onefor each of contacts 112 a-112 d. Contact frame 194 can be made from adielectric material and in one particular embodiment is formed from aliquid crystal polymer using an injection molding process. Contactstrips 196 a-196 d can be stamped from a sheet of metal such as phosphorbronze and threaded into grooves 198 a-198 d formed in contact frame 194as shown in FIG. 25A (FIG. 24, step 210).

Contact pucks 204 a and 204 b can be attached to one end of contactstrips 196 a and 196 b, respectively, while contact pucks 204 c and 204d can be attached to the corresponding ends of contact strips 196 c and196 d (FIG. 24, step 212 and FIG. 25B). Pucks 204 a-204 b can be madefrom a variety of conductive materials and formed in a variety ofdifferent manners. In one particular embodiment, pucks 204 a-204 d arestamped from a sheet of nickel-plated brass and laser welded to theirrespective contact strips. Next, contact frame 194 can be inserted intoground ring 102 (FIG. 24, step 214 and FIG. 25C) and a thermoplastic orsimilar dielectric overmold 200 can formed around the contacts toprovide smooth and substantially flat upper and lower surfaces of thetab portion of the connector and provide a finished look (FIG. 24, step216 and FIG. 25D). In one embodiment, dielectric overmold 200 is formedfrom polyoxymethylene (POM) in an injection molding process.

Next, a cable bundle 43 having four individual insulated signal wires161, one for each of the contacts of connector 190, is attached to theground ring/contact frame assembly as shown in FIG. 25E by solderingeach of the wires 161 to its respective contact strip (FIG. 24, step218). An inner dielectric jacket 202 is then formed around much of theassembly using an injection molding or similar process (FIG. 24, step220 and FIG. 25F). Inner jacket 202 includes a generally rounded or ovalend portion 167 that covers several centimeters or more of cable bundle161 and a connector portion 169 that, combined with ground ring 102,forms a substantially monolithic base portion 159 of connector 190.Inner jacket 202 helps provides strain relief for connector 190 and canbe made from a dielectric material such as an elastomer or apolypropylene material. The construction of connector 190 can then becompleted by sliding an outer shell 134 around an end base portion 102 bof ground ring 102 and inner jacket 202 (FIG. 24, step 222 and FIG.25G). Outer shell 134 can be adhered to the ground ring and inner jacketusing any appropriate adhesive suitable for the particular materialsbeing bonded.

FIG. 26A is a simplified perspective view of a four contact plug 230according to still another embodiment of the invention and FIG. 26B isan exploded view of connector plug 230. Connector 150 includes manyfeatures similar to connectors 150 and 190 discussed above with respectto FIGS. 20A and 23A, respectively. Connector 123 differs from theseconnectors in that the body of connector 230 and tab portion 44 of theconnector that is designed to be inserted within a correspondingreceptacle connector are combined as a single monolithic (thoughrelatively small) piece with a uniform cross-sectional shape.Additionally, a portion of connector 230 is relatively flexible.Specifically, connector 230 includes a rigid connector or tip portion232 and a flexible base portion 234. In this particular embodiment,rigid portion 232 is approximately one third the length of the connectorwhile flexible portion 234 is approximately two thirds the length. Inother embodiments, however, the ratio between the flexible and rigid tipportion may differ considerably.

The tip 232 of connector 230 includes a ground ring 102 that surroundscontacts 112 a-112 d at the tip and sides of the connector. Ground ring102 can be made from any appropriate metal or other conductive materialand in one embodiment is stainless steel plated with copper and nickel.When fully inserted, the entirety of rigid portion 232 is within thereceptacle connector along with a portion 132 of the flexible portion234 of connector 230.

The flexible base portion 234 of connector 230 can be made from aflexible dielectric material such as an elastomer or a polypropylenematerial which enables the connector to flex along the length of theconnector to at least a point where the ground ring begins in order torelieve strain during off angle mating events in a manner similar tothat described with respect to FIGS. 11A and 11B. In one specificexample, base portion 234 is made from Arnitel EL250 available from DSMEngineering. Connector 230 also includes indentations or pockets 152 a,152 b on each side of the connector in ground ring 102 as describedabove.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 27A-27G, which depict connector 230 atvarious stages of manufacture. Contacts 112 a-112 d are formed from aflex circuit 235 upon which contact pucks 236 a-236 d are attached.Pucks 236 a-236 d can be made from a variety of conductive materials andin one embodiment are brass. Pucks 236 a-236 d can be cut to size in astamping or similar process from a metal sheet and can be attached toflex circuit 235 using surface mount technology (SMT) as shown in FIG.27A. In a separate step, ground ring 102 can be secured to the body ofconnector 230 by retention clips 238 which can be made out of the samestainless steel or other metal as the ground ring and laser welded atlocations 239 or otherwise connected to ground ring 102 as shown in FIG.27B. Retention clips 238 have an anchor at one end that extends beyondthe ground ring towards a base of the connector to secure the groundring to the connector body as described more fully below.

Once the ground ring/retention clip and flex circuit/contact puckassemblies are made, the flex circuit assembly can be inserted into andadhered to the ground ring with an appropriate adhesive as shown in FIG.27C. Next, a metal ground bridge 240 and weld puck 242, each of which,for example, can be brass, are soldered together and attached to theflex circuit between opposing ends of retention clips 238 as shown inFIG. 17D. A cable 43 with signal wires 171 is then soldered to contacts245, which are electrically connected to and carry signals fromrespective contacts 152 a-152 d (FIG. 27E). As shown in FIG. 27E, cable43 has a generally flat portion that is spaced apart from flex circuit235 in an oppositional relationship. An inner dielectric jacket 246 isformed around much of the assembly using an injection molding or similarprocess as shown in FIG. 27F. Inner jacket 246 extends from thesubstantially flat end of cable 43 to retention clips 238 and providesstructural strength to connector 230 covering signal wires 171 and aportion of flex circuit 235. Inner jacket 246 can be made from aflexible dielectric material such as an elastomer or a polyproplylenematerial just like outer jacket 244, and in one particular embodiment,is made from the same material as the outer jacket.

The construction of connector 230 can then be completed by forming outerjacket 244 around an end portion of cable 170, inner jacket 246 and theother connector components using an injection molding or similar processforming the substantially rectangular connector plug 230. As shown inFIG. 27G, outer jacket 244 fills in the gaps between the contact pucksand covers anchors 230 filling the semicircular space between eachanchor end thereby fully securing ground ring 102 and componentsconnected to the ground ring to the connector body.

Reference is now made to FIG. 28A, which is a simplified perspectiveview of one embodiment of a receptacle connector 250 that can be used inconjunction with certain plug connectors according to the presentinvention. Connector jack 250 includes a housing 252 that defines aninterior cavity 254 into which a plug connector, such as connector 40,can be inserted. One or more contacts extend into cavity 254 from eachof the upper and lower interior surfaces of the cavity, the number ofwhich depends on the type of plug connector receptacle connector 250 isintended to be used with. For example, receptacle connector 250 can bedesigned to mate with a four contact plug connector such as connector110 shown in FIGS. 14A-14D and thus includes four contacts within cavity254—two on each of the major opposing interior surfaces of cavity 254and can be designed to mate with a four contact plug connector such asconnector 110 shown in FIGS. 14A-14D. In other embodiments, connectorjack 250 may include any number of contacts, from pairs of one to twentyor more arranged on opposing surfaces of cavity 254 in a variety ofdifferent patterns that match the contact locations of a particular plugconnector. As examples, receptacle connector 250 may include contacts atboth the upper and lower interior surfaces of cavity 254 that arepositioned to electrically couple with contacts arranged on a plugconnector according to any of the contact patterns shown in FIGS. 5A-5Has well as other contact patterns.

As seen in FIG. 28B, which is a front view of connector jack 250, in oneparticular embodiment receptacle connector 250 includes four contacts256 a-256 d positioned to electrically couple to appropriate contacts inthe corresponding plug connector, for example to contacts 112 a-112 d inconnector 110. Thus, contacts 256 a-256 d are arranged in a symmetricmanner complementary of contacts 112 a-112 d of the plug connector.Additionally, cavity 254 is shaped so that the plug connector can beinserted into the cavity in either of two orientations: a firstorientation in which plug connector contacts from region 46 a (contacts112 a, 112 b) electrically couple to the receptacle connector contactsprotruding from an interior upper surface of the cavity and a secondorientation in which plug connector contacts from region 46 b (contacts112 c, 112 d) electrically couple to the receptacle connector contactsprotruding from the interior upper surface. Circuitry within receptacleconnector jack 250 detects the orientation of the plug connector andsets software switches to properly match the contacts to the plugconnector's contacts. For example, a first software switch can be usedto switch the connector jack's contacts for left and right audiodepending on the insertion orientation while a second software switchcan be used to switch the connector jacks microphone and ground contactsto match the contacts of connector 110.

To facilitate the dual orientation insertion, upper and lower portionsof cavity 254 (as defined by a plane 255 that horizontally bisects thecavity as shown in FIG. 28B) can be mirror images of each other. Leftand right portions of cavity 254 (as defined by a similar plane thatvertically bisects the cavity) can also be mirror images of each other.Additionally, receptacle connector 250 does not include polarizationkeys that limit a mating event between the plug and receptacleconnectors to a single orientation.

In some embodiments receptacle connector 250 is designed to bewaterproof so as to not allow ingress of moisture into whateverelectronic device the connector is housed within. Also, a hole (notvisible in the drawing) within the interior of cavity 254 allows aspring-loaded retention mechanism 258 to protrude into the cavity. Asshown in FIG. 8C, which is a bottom plan view of receptacle connector250, retention mechanism 258 includes a spring 260 positioned in acut-out section 262 of the housing. Spring 260 is pre-loaded so that atip 264 extends through an opening between cut-out 262 and cavity 254.When plug connector 110 is inserted into cavity 254, spring 260 latcheswith either retention feature 104 a or 104 b of the connector plugdepending on its insertion orientation. In some embodiments, spring 260can be made from metal and also act as a ground contact for receptacleconnector 250.

As previously discussed, retention features 104 a, 104 b can be locatednear the distal end of connector 110. The inventors have determined thatpositioning the retention features near the end of the plug connector(and thus positioning the and corresponding retention mechanism near therear of cavity 254) helps to better secure the plug connector sidewayswhen it is in an engaged position within receptacle connector 250.Furthermore, the shape of the retention features on the plug connectorcan match the shape of retention mechanism 258 to provide a comfortableclick feel when the retention mechanism engages the retention feature.For example, the rounded bulbous shape of retention features 104 a, 104b of connector 110 can match the rounded shape of the tip 264 of spring260 to provide a secure engagement between the structures. FIG. 29 showsplug connector 110 inserted into connector jack 250 where one ofretention features 104 a, 104 b is engaged with spring 260.

In FIGS. 8A-28C, the overhead of contacts 256 a-256 d of receptacleconnector 250 is placed at the ends of the contacts as illustratedschematically in FIG. 30A, which shows contacts 256 a, 256 b ofreceptacle connector 250 and their associated contact overhead 268 inrelation to a plug connector 110 having contacts 112 a, 112 boperatively coupled to the receptacle jack. In other embodiments, theoverhead of the contacts can be placed at the sides of the receptacleconnector contacts as shown in FIG. 30B or above and below the contactsas shown in FIG. 30C, which is a simplified side view of plug connector110 mated with contacts in a receptacle connector (where, for ease ofillustration, only the contacts of the receptacle connector are shown ina schematic representation).

FIG. 31A is a front view of receptacle connector 270 according toanother embodiment of the invention. Receptacle connector 270 is similarto receptacle connector 250 except, among other differences, in theshape of cavity 254, which is generally more rectangular than that ofconnector 250, and that connector 270 includes first and secondretention mechanisms 272 a and 272 b protruding into cavity 254 fromopposing side surfaces of the cavity instead of a single retentionmechanism. Each of retention mechanisms 272 a, 272 b may include, forexample, a spring that is pre-loaded so that a tip of the retentionmechanism extends through an opening in each sidewall of the cavity 254.When a plug connector is inserted into cavity 254, the retentionmechanisms 272 a, 272 b latch with retention features, such as notches104 a, 104 b or pockets 152 a, 152 b of one of the plug connectorsdiscussed above. Retention mechanisms 272 a, 272 b can be locateddirectly opposite each other within cavity 254 and can be designed toimpart a retention force on the plug connector that is approximatelyequal at each side. Similar to retention mechanism 258, the shape ofretention mechanism 272 a, 272 b can match that of the plug connectorretention features to provide a comfortable click feel when theretention mechanisms and features engage with each other.

FIG. 31B is a top plan view of connector jack 270. As shown in FIG. 31B,each of the receptacle contacts 256 a-256 d includes a contact tip, 274a-274 d, respectively, that can be bonded to a wire that electricallyconnects the contact to circuitry associated with the electrical devicein which receptacle connector 270 is housed. For example, connector jack270 can be part of a portable media device and electronic circuitryassociated with the media device is electrically connected to receptacleconnector 270 via contact tips 274 a-274 d.

As described above, various embodiments of the invention pertain to aconnector system having 180 degree symmetry. Thus, cavity 254 can besymmetrical with respect to both vertical and horizontal bisectingplanes as discussed above. Additionally, contacts 256 a and 256 b can bedirectly opposite contacts 256 c and 256 d so that a plug connector,such as connector 230, can be inserted into jack 270 in either of twoorientations. In a first orientation, plug connector contacts 112 a, 112b are respectively coupled to receptacle contacts 256 a, 256 b andcontacts 112 c, 112 d are respectively coupled to receptacle contacts256 c, 256 d. In a second orientation opposite the first orientation,plug contacts 112 a, 112 b are coupled to receptacle contacts 256 d, 256c, while plug contacts 112 c, 112 d are coupled to receptacle contacts256 b, 256 a.

While many of the embodiments of the invention set forth above have beendepicted in the included figures as four contact connectors, embodimentsof the invention are not limited to any particular number of contacts.To further underscore this, reference is now made to FIGS. 33A-33D,which depict various views of a twelve contact plug connector 300according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG.33A is a simplified perspective view of plug connector 300 while FIGS.33B-33D are simplified bottom, front and side plan views, respectively.Connector 300 includes many of the same features as connector 150 exceptit has six contacts 302 ₍₁₎ and 302 ₍₆₎ positioned within contact region46 a and an additional six contacts 302 ₍₇₎ and 302 ₍₁₂₎ positionedwithin region 46 b on the opposing surface of tab 44. The contacts canbe made from a copper, nickel, brass, a metal alloy or any otherappropriate conductive material. Spacing is consistent between each ofthe contacts on the front and back sides and between the contacts andthe edges of the connector providing 180 degree symmetry so that plugconnector 300 can be inserted into a corresponding receptacle connectorin either of two orientations as discussed above.

A significant portion of tab 44 is including its shape is defined byground ring 102 that extends from a distal tip of the connector towardsthe outer shell and partially surrounds contacts 302 ₍₁₎. 302 ₍₁₂₎ alongan outer periphery of tab 44. Ground ring 102 can be made from anyappropriate metal or other conductive material and in one embodiment isstainless steel plated with copper and nickel. Two indentations orpockets 152 a and 152 b are formed in ground ring 102 and located onopposing sides 56 c and 56 d of the tab near its distal end as withconnector 150. In one particular embodiment, tab 44 of connector 300 hasa width, X, of 4.0 mm; a thickness, Y, of 1.5 mm; and a insertion depth,Z, of 5.0 mm. It is understood that the dimensions of connector 50 aswell as the number of contacts may vary in different embodiments.

When connector 300 is properly engaged with a receptacle connector eachof contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302 ₍₁₂₎ is in electrical contact with acorresponding contact in the corresponding receptacle connector. Tab 52has a 180 degree symmetrical, double orientation design which enablesthe connector to be inserted into a connector jack in both a firstorientation where surface 44 a is facing up or a second orientationwhere surface 44 b is facing up. In the first orientation, plugconnector contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302 ₍₆₎ couple to receptacle contacts 366₍₁₎-366 ₍₆₎, respectively, and contacts 302 ₍₇₎-302 ₍₁₂₎ couple toreceptacle contacts 366 ₍₇₎-366 ₍₁₂₎, respectively. In the secondorientation opposite the first orientation, plug contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302₍₆₎ couple to receptacle contacts 366 ₍₇₎-366 ₍₁₂₎ and plug contacts 302₍₇₎-302 ₍₁₂₎ couple to receptacle contacts 366 ₍₁₎-366 ₍₆₎.

To facilitate the orientation agnostic feature of connector 300,contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302 ₍₁₂₎ are arranged such that similarly purposedcontacts are located on opposite sides of the connector in a catercornered arrangement. As an example, reference is made to FIG. 34A,which is a diagram depicting pin locations of connector 300 according toone specific embodiment of the invention having two contacts designatedfor power, two contacts designated for analog audio signals and eightcontacts designated for differential data signals including two USB datacontacts, and six display port contacts.

As shown in FIG. 34A, when a midpoint line 305 dividing connector tab 44into equal top and bottom halves and a midpoint line 306 dividing theconnector tab 44 into equal left and right halves are considered, thecontacts associated with connector 50 can be divided into four quadrantslabeled clockwise from the top left portion of the connector asquadrants I, II, III and IV, respectively. Quadrants I and III arelocated in a cater cornered arrangement as are quadrants II and IV.Individual contacts within the cater cornered quadrants can be arranged,based on their function, in a mirrored relationship. For example, thetwo contacts in quadrants I and III closest to midpoint line 61,contacts 302 ₍₃₎ and 302 ₍₉₎, are each dedicated for power. Similarlythe two outermost contacts in these quadrants are dedicated for a pairof differential data signals. In quadrants, II and IV, the innermostcontact, contacts 302 ₍₄₎ and 302 ₍₁₀₎ are each dedicated for analogaudio signals while the two outermost contacts in each quadrantdedicated for a pair of differential data signals.

As evident from a comparison of FIGS. 34A and 34B, which depict thepinout of connector 300 in two different orientations (in FIG. 34Asurface 44 a is facing up while in FIG. 34B surface 44 b is facing up),regardless of which of the two possible orientations that connector 300is inserted into its receptacle connector, the contact order on the topside of the connector, from left to right, is always as follows: thefirst two contacts are designated for a pair of differential datasignals, the third contact is designated for a power contact, the fourthcontact is designated for an audio contact and the fifth and sixthcontacts are designated for another pair of differential data signals.Similarly, the contact order on the bottom side of the connector, fromleft to right, is always as follows: the first two contacts aredesignated for a pair of differential data signals, the third contact isdesignated for an audio contact, the fourth contact is designated for apower contact and the fifth and sixth contacts are designated foranother pair of differential data signals.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 35-38. FIG. 35 is an exploded view ofconnector 310 for a synchronization and charging cable that has the sameform factor as connector 300 (and thus will operatively engage with thesame set of receptacle connectors as plug connector 300) including thesame number of contacts. As a sync and charge cable, however, thecontact locations dedicated for audio contacts and display port contactsare not needed and thus are not made operational in this particularembodiment. FIG. 37 is a flow chart that illustrates steps associatedwith the manufacture of connector 310 according to one embodiment of theinvention and FIG. 38A-38P depicts connector 310 at the various stagesof manufacture set forth in FIG. 37.

The manufacture of connector 310 can start with the construction ofprinted circuit boards 312 a and 312 b (FIG. 37, step 330) each of whichincludes six contact areas that, together, correspond to contacts 302₍₁₎-302 ₍₁₂₎. FIGS. 36A and 36B more clearly show a top plan view andside plan view, respectively, of PCB 312 a. Contact pucks are attachedto the contact areas of PCB 312 a to form contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302 ₍₆₎. Thecontact pucks can be made from a variety of conductive materials and inone embodiment are nickel-plated brass. The pucks can be cut to size ina stamping or similar process from a metal sheet and can be attached toPCB 312 a using surface mount technology. As shown in FIG. 36A, PCB 312a includes wire solder pads 315 that are electrically coupled tocorresponding contact areas. As noted above because connector 310 is async and charge cable, connector 310 does not include electricalconnections for audio contacts 302 ₍₄₎ and 302 ₍₁₀₎, nor does it includeelectrical connections for display port contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302 ₍₂₎, 302₍₇₎-302 ₍₈₎ and 302 ₍₁₁₎-302 ₍₁₂₎. Instead, contacts formed in thoselocations are not coupled to solder pads on the PCBs and are thus notfunctional. This is evidenced in FIG. 36A which shows USB contacts 302₍₅₎-302 ₍₆₎ and power contact 302 ₍₃₎ coupled to corresponding solderpads via electrical traces while contacts 302 ₍₁₎, 302 ₍₂₎ and 302 ₍₄₎are not connected to electrical traces and are not connected to any ofsolder pads 315. In other embodiments, all of contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302 ₍₁₂₎may be operatively coupled to solder pads on the PCBs or differentsubsets of contacts may be coupled depending on the purpose of theconnector.

After each of the PCBs 312 a, 312 b are constructed and the contactsattached, the PCBs are inserted through the front side of ground ring102 via the top and bottom openings of the ground ring that surround thecontacts as shown in FIGS. 38A-38F. Next, ground plate 314 is sandwichedbetween the two PCBs 312 a, 312 b by inserting the ground plate from theback of ground ring 102 (FIG. 38G). Ground plate 314 provides a thicklayer of shielding between contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302 ₍₆₎ formed on PCB 312 aand contacts 302 ₍₇₎-302 ₍₁₂₎ formed on PCB 312 b.

The assembled ground ring/PCB/ground plate structure (FIG. 38H) is thenplaced in a molding tool and a thermoplastic or similar dielectricovermold 316 can be formed around the contacts to provide smooth andsubstantially flat upper and lower surfaces of the tab portion ofconnector 310 and provide a finished look (FIG. 37, step 334; FIG. 38I).In one embodiment, dielectric overmold 316 is formed with an injectionmolding process using polyoxymethylene (POM).

A cable bundle 318 having individual signal wires 320, one for each ofthe functional contacts of connector 310 as well as one or more groundwires to be coupled to ground ring 102 can be prepared at this time orprior to step 330 (FIG. 38J). The individual signal wires are cut andstripped, the jacket of the cable bundle is stripped and the cableshields are folded back over the jacket. Next, a cable crimp 322 havinga bottom metal shield is secured to the cable bundle (FIG. 37, step 336;FIG. 38K). The cable bundle can then be attached to the ground ring/PCBassembly as shown in FIG. 38L by soldering each of the signal wires toits respective solder pad and soldering the ground wires to the groundring (FIG. 37, step 338). The solder joints and exposed wires can thenbe potted with a UV glue to further secure the connections.

At this stage of manufacture the end of cable bundle 318 is spaced apartfrom the PCB assembly in an oppositional relationship and positionedabove bottom metal shield 312 and between two opposing ends of groundring 102. A metal top shield 314 can be attached to the top of groundring 102 (FIG. 38M) and the top and bottom metal shields are laserwelded or similarly attached to ground ring 102 to form an enclosure orbox around the cable bundle (FIG. 37, step 340). Next, a dielectric trimpiece 326 can be slid over the end of tab 102 and glued to the exposedfront of ground ring 102 (FIG. 37, step 342; FIG. 38N). As shown in FIG.38N, dielectric trim includes two rails 326 a, 326 b that slide intocorresponding grooves in ground ring 102 and includes a front face 326 cthat is sized to have the same width and height as the base of groundring 102. In one embodiment trim piece 326 can be made from ABS plasticor a similar dielectric material.

An inner dielectric strain relief jacket 328 is then formed around muchof the assembly using an injection molding or similar process (FIG. 37,step 344; FIG. 38O). Strain relief jacket 328 can include a generallycircular end portion 328 a that covers a centimeter or more of cablebundle 318 and a block portion 328 b that completes and fills in gaps inthe metal enclosure formed by ground ring 102, bottom shied 322 and topshield 324 thereby forming a substantially monolithic base portion 90 ofconnector 310 that is effectively sealed. Strain relief jacket 328provides structure and strain relief for connector 310 and can be madefrom a dielectric material such as an elastomer or a polyproplylenematerial.

The construction of connector 310 can then be completed by sliding anouter shell 134 around the monolithic base portion covering an endportion of ground ring 102, trim piece 326 and strain relief jacket 328(FIG. 37, step 346; FIG. 38P). Outer shell 134 can be formed from ABS ora similar dielectric material and adhered to the ground ring and innerjacket using any appropriate adhesive suitable for the particularmaterials being bonded.

FIGS. 39A-39D show top, perspective, front and side views of areceptacle connector 360 according to one embodiment of the inventiondesigned to have a reduced width as compared to depth. Receptacleconnector 360 includes a housing 362 that defines a cavity 364 andhouses twelve contacts 366 ₍₁₎-366 ₍₁₂₎ within the cavity. In operation,a connector plug, such as plug connector 300 can be inserted into cavity364 to electrically couple the contacts 302 ₍₁₎-302 ₍₁₂₎ to respectivecontacts 366 ₍₁₎-366 ₍₁₂₎. Positioned along the sides of the interior ofcavity 364 are two spring-loaded conductive retention clips 368 a, 368 bthat protrude into the cavity and function to both secure the plugconnector within the cavity and provide a ground for the connector.

Retention mechanisms 368 a, 368 b may include, for example, a metalspring that is pre-loaded so that a tip of the retention mechanismsextend through an opening in each sidewall of the cavity 364. When aplug connector is inserted into cavity 364, the retention clips 368 a,368 b latch with pockets 152 a, 152 b, respectively, of the connectorplug. The shape of retention mechanism 368 a, 368 b matches that ofpockets 152 a, 152 b to provide a comfortable click feel when theretention clips engage with the pockets. In one embodiment, the depthand position of the pockets is selected to provide specific insertionand extraction forces such that the retention force required to insertthe plug connector into receptacle connector 360 is higher than theextraction force required to remove the plug connector from thereceptacle connector. Also, in one embodiment, retention clips 368 a,368 b are located near the back surface of cavity 364. The inventorshave determined that positioning the retention clips near the back ofthe cavity, which requires pockets 152 a, 152 b on the plug connector tobe positioned near its distal end, helps to better secure the connectorsideways when it is in an engaged position within connector jack 360.

Each of the receptacle contacts 366 ₍₁₎-366 ₍₁₂₎ electrically connectsits respective plug contact to circuitry associated with the electricaldevice in which receptacle connector 360 is housed. For example,receptacle connector 360 can be part of a portable media device andelectronic circuitry associated with the media device is electricallyconnected to jack 360 by soldering tips of contacts 366 ₍₁₎-366 ₍₁₂₎that extend outside housing 362 to a multilayer board such as a printedcircuit board (PCB) within the portable media device. Additionally, eachof the conductive retention clips 368 a, 368 b can be electricallycoupled to a ground path associated with connector 360. As an example,in one embodiment, pins at a back end of retention clips 368 a, 368 bcan be soldered to bonding pads formed on the multilayer board or PCBassociated with the portable media device that are coupled to ground.

FIGS. 40A-40D show top, perspective, front and side views of areceptacle connector 370 according to another embodiment of theinvention designed to have a reduced depth as compared to width. Exceptfor the dimensions of housing 363, the components of connector 370 aresimilar to those of connector 360 and are thus referred to with the samereference numbers.

In one embodiment, each of receptacle connectors 360 and 370 can beformed using the process depicted in FIG. 41. For example, contacts 366₍₁₎-366 ₍₁₂₎ can be formed from lead frames stamped from an appropriatemetal such as nickel-coated brass (FIG. 41A). The contacts can bearranged and spaced apart in a mold and insert molded within dielectricblocks 369 made from a thermoplastic or similar material to form twoseparate sets of contacts (FIG. 41B). Each of the contact sets can thenbe attached at top and bottom interior surfaces of housing 362 (FIG.41C) so that a front end of the contact extends into cavity 364 formedby the housing and a back end of the contact extends out of the back ofthe housing so that it can be soldered to a bonding pad (not shown)formed on a printed circuit board or similarly electrically connected todesired circuitry associated with the electronic device in which thereceptacle connector is housed.

Retention clips 368 a, 368 b can similarly be formed using a metalstamping process and assembled to the sides of housing 362 (FIG. 41D).Retention clips 368 a, 368 b can include pins 367 that extend out pastaback end of housing 362 in order to electrically ground the retentionclips to the electrical device in which receptacle connector 360 ishoused as discussed above. Next, the partially assembled receptacleconnector can be placed in a mold and liquid silicone rubber can beinjected around the housing to form a boot 380 that seals the receptacleconnector (FIG. 41E). Top and bottom metal shells 382 and 384 can thenbe attached over silicone rubber boot 380 to the top and bottom ofhousing 362, respectively, and laser welded together to form an outerenclosure that provides additional shielding for the connector (FIG.4F). Finally, a conductive EMI gasket 386 can be attached to the frontof the housing to further seal the connector when receptacle connectorand the plug connector are mated (FIG. 41G).

FIG. 42 is a simplified perspective view of a connector plug 390according to another embodiment of the invention in which a ground ringis not employed. Instead, connector 390 is made from two printed circuitboards 392 a, 392 b sandwiched around a structural conductive member264, such as a brass plate. A tab portion 395 extends out of body 42 andhas the same form factor as tab 44 of connector 300 shown in FIG. 32including the same twelve contacts (six on an upper surface of connector390 and six on a lower surface) spaced the same distance from the edgesof the connector at the same spacing enabling plug connector 390 to beoperatively coupled to the same receptacle connectors such as plugconnector 300.

Connector 390 does not include a ground ring similar to ground ring 102,however, Instead, indentations 396 a, 396 b formed on opposing sides ofconductive member 394 match generally the size and contour of pockets152 a, 152 b giving the tab portion of connector 390 a bread loaf shapewhen viewed from above or below. Indentations 266 provide the connectorthe same comfortable click/lock feeling achieved by connector 300 whenit is inserted and removed from a receptacle connector. Also, when matedwith a receptacle connector, conductive member 394 receives a groundconnection via the retention clips in the receptacle connector.

Another example of a data connector according to the present inventionis illustrated in FIG. 43, which is a perspective view of a connector400 according to another embodiment of the invention. Connector 400includes eight contacts arranged as four pairs of contacts 401, 402 on afirst major surface of tab 44 and 403 and 404 (not shown in FIG. 43) onthe opposing major surface. In one embodiment, each of the contact pairscarry complementary or similarly purposed signals. For example, in oneparticular embodiment contact pair 401 includes first and second powersignals, contact pair 402 includes a first set of positive and negativedifferential data signals, signal pair 403 includes a second set ofpositive and negative differential data signals, and contact pair 404includes a third set of positive and negative differential data signals(contact pairs 403 and 404 are not shown in FIG. 43 but are directlyopposite contact pairs 401 and 402). The data contacts can be used tocarry any appropriate data signal as well as audio signals, videosignals and the like. From an exterior view, other than the number ofcontacts, connector 400 is similar to connector 300 and includes aground ring 102, an outer sleeve 216 and pockets 217 that are similar tothe components of the same name in connector 300. Additionally, groundring 102 includes a chamfered edge 192 to increase the strength of theconnector.

FIG. 44A is a simplified perspective cut-away view of connector 400 inwhich individual contacts 402 a and 402 b from contact pair 402 arefully visible without surrounding molding or the ground ring. Each ofthe contacts is attached to a printed circuit board 405 having a groundplane 408 sandwiched between top and bottom dielectric layers 406 a and406 b. Contacts 401 a, 401 b and 402 a, 402 b are attached to conductivepads (not shown) formed on dielectric layer 406 a while contact 403 a,403 b and 404 a, 404 b are attached to conductive pads formed ondielectric layer 406 b. Ground plane 408 is thus positioned between thesets of contacts pairs (401 and 404) and (402 and 403) which reducessignal interference that may otherwise occur between the closely spacedcontact pairs.

FIG. 44B is a simplified cross-sectional view of connector 400 throughthe middle of the contact pairs. As shown in FIG. 44B, contact pairs401-404 are divided into four quadrants by ground plane 404 and acentral rib 415 a, which is part of ground ring 102. Rib 415 a runslongitudinally through the tab portion of connector 400 dividing the tabinto left and right halves with contact pairs 401 and 404 on one halfand contact pairs 402 and 403 on the opposite half. FIG. 44B also showsthat dielectric overmolding 418 (e.g., a thermoplastic material such asPOM) fills in gaps between the individual contacts of each contact pair(e.g., between contacts 401 a and 401 b) as well as between the contactpairs and ground ring 102 and rib 415 a.

Reference is now made to FIG. 45, which is a simplified partial cut-awayperspective view of a plug connector 400 and a receptacle connector jack420 according to an embodiment of the invention where plug connector 400is positioned next to connector jack 420 prior to a mating event.Connector jack 420 includes an outer shell 422 that defines an interiorcavity 424 into which the tab portion of plug connector 400 can beinserted. The receptacle connector includes four contact pairs 426-429that extend into cavity 424 and detents 425 which extend from theopposing sidewalls of jack 420 into cavity 424. When plug connector 400is inserted into cavity 424, detents 425 engage pockets 152 a, 152 b tosecure the plug connector within cavity 424 and individual contacts incontact pairs 401-404 of the plug connector are electrically coupled toindividual contacts of contact pairs 426-429, respectively, of thereceptacle connector.

Each of the contacts in contact pairs 426-429 can be is insert moldedwithin a dielectric block 429 made from a thermoplastic or similarmaterial with a front end of the contact extending into cavity 424 and aback end extending in the opposite direction towards a back end of thereceptacle connector. In FIG. 45 only individual contacts 402 b and 404a, 404 b of receptacle connector 420 can be seen. The back end of eachcontact is electrically coupled to a bonding pad (not shown) formed onprinted circuit board (PCB) 426. Conductive traces (not shown) on PCB426 connect the contacts to circuitry associated with the electronicdevice in which receptacle connector 420 is housed. To reduce signalinterference between contacts and improve grounding, receptacleconnector 430 includes grounding contacts and a ground plane 428 thatgenerally surround the contact pairs and divide them into quadrants thatcorrespond to the quadrants associated with contacts 401-404.Specifically, a grounding contact can be located between each contactpair and a sidewall of housing 422 while other grounding contacts can belocated between contact pairs 403, 404 and 401, 402, respectively. Eachof the grounding contacts is positioned to contact a different portionof ground ring 102 when the connectors are mated. Grounding plane 428 isformed on PCB 426 and sandwiched between an upper dielectric layer 426 aand a lower dielectric layer 426 b. Finally, a conductive gasket 430provides sealing and environmental shielding when jack 420 and plugconnector 400 are mated.

Any of the connectors discussed herein can be modified to include one ormore fiber optic cables that extend through the connector and can beoperatively coupled to receive or transmit optical data signals betweena mating connector jack. As an example, FIGS. 46A-46D illustrate oneexample of a connector 440 having five analog contacts as well as afiber optic cable 445 that runs through the center of the connector. Theanalog contacts include contacts 112 a, 112 c for left and right audio,a contact 112 b for microphone, a contact 112 d for power, and a contact222 e for ground. Fiber optic cable 230 allows for high data ratetransmissions and can be used for USB 4.0 compatibility (e.g., 10GB/second data transfer). With power, audio and data connections,connector 440 can be used to charge a device while simultaneouslyproviding data and audio functions.

As shown in FIG. 46D, which is an expanded view of the distal end ofconnector 440, fiber optic cable 445 terminates at a lens 446 positionedat the distal end of the connector and secured in place by ground ring425. Lens 446 can be made from a chemically strengthened aluminosilicateglass or a similar material that is highly resistant to scratching andis flush with the external surface of ground ring 425 to prevent debrisbuild-up and abstraction of light.

Some embodiments of the invention pertain to connectors specificallydesigned for specific functions, for example as required by certainaccessories or cable adapters, as described below with respect to FIGS.47-59. In the described embodiments and unless otherwise noted, each ofthe connectors described with respect to FIGS. 47-59 includes aconnector tab that is similarly designed in shape and dimensions to tab44 of plug connector 300 shown in FIG. 32, including contact spacing andside retention pockets, so that the various connector tabs are generallyinsertable and useable with the same receptacle connector as plugconnector 300. Also, each of the connectors described in FIGS. 47-59includes a ground ring that enables the connector to be connected toground via grounded retention clips in a corresponding receptacleconnector as described above.

As a first example of a specifically purposed connector, FIG. 47 is asimplified perspective view of a plug connector 500 according to anembodiment of the invention specifically designed for headphones andother audio applications. Connector 500 includes four contacts, twocontacts on an upper surface of a tab portion 502 of the connector andtwo contacts on the lower surface of connector tab 502. The fourcontacts provide left and right audio as well as microphone power, andare sized and spaced such that they match the locations of contacts 302₍₃₎ and 302 ₍₄₎ on one side and match the location, size and spacing ofcontacts 302 ₍₉₎ and 302 ₍₁₀₎ on the other side. Thus, as shown in FIG.49A, the two contacts on each side can be used to represent power andaudio and align (depending on the orientation of connector 500) witheither the power and audio contacts shown in FIG. 34A or shown in FIG.34B. In one embodiment, circuitry associated with an electronic devicein which connector 500 can be plugged into allows the contacts to beused in a backward compatible mode where the power contact is replacedwith a Microphone Bias contact as shown in FIG. 49B. FIG. 48 is asimplified perspective view of a headset 510 that includes connector 500shown in FIG. 47 according to an embodiment of the invention includingleft and right earbuds 512, 514 connected to connector 500 by a cable516.

FIG. 50 is a simplified perspective view of a connector plug 520according to another embodiment of the invention that is specificallyadapted to be used in data synchronization applications and chargingapplications. To this end, connector 520 includes fully functionalcontacts at the two locations designated for USB data that align withcontact locations 302(5) and 302(6) and the two locations designated forpower that align with contact locations 302(3) and 302(9) as shown inFIG. 52 as well as ground contacts that connect to connector 520 throughits ground ring via the receptacle connector retention clips asdescribed above. As configured, connector 520 allows for USB 2.0synchronization as well as 5 volt, 2 amp charging. FIG. 51 is asimplified perspective view of a USB adapter cable 530 having a USB maleconnector 535 at one end and connector 520 shown in FIG. 50 at the otherend according to an embodiment of the invention. The two connectors areconnected together by a cable 532.

FIG. 53 is a simplified perspective view of a connector plug 540 thatsupports full audio/video functionality according to another embodimentof the invention including line out audio, Mikey bus control and a twochannel display port as well as USB 2.0 synchronization, 5 volt, 2 ampcharging and a 3 volt accessory out signal. Connector 540 includesactive circuitry (not shown) within a shell 542 that allows forconversion of display port video signals to HDMI signals. Connector 540includes the full complement of twelve functional contacts as shown inFIGS. 34A and 34B. FIG. 54 is a simplified perspective view of aaudio/visual adapter cable 600 having an HDMI connector 602, a USBconnector 604 and a digital audio connector 606 at one end connected bya cable 608 to connector 540 at the other end according to an embodimentof the invention. Active circuitry within shell 542 of connector 540separates audio and digital data send over the six display port datacontacts of connector 540 sending the audio signals to both the digitalaudio connector 606 and HDMI connector 602 while sending the videosignals to HDMI connector 602. The USB data signals can be passedthrough the USB contact pins of connector 540 directly to USB connector604.

FIG. 55 is a simplified perspective view of a audio/visual adapter cable610 having a mini display port connector 612 and a USB connector 614 atone end connected by a cable 618 to a plug connector 616 having a pinoutas shown in FIGS. 34A and 34B at the other end according to anotherembodiment of the invention. FIG. 56 is a simplified perspective view ofa audio/visual adapter cable 620 having a mini display port connector622 at one end connected by a cable 628 to a high speed data connector626 at the other end according to another embodiment of the invention.Connector 626 has a pinout that includes two high speed differentialdata input contacts and two high speed differential data output contactsas shown in FIG. 57 instead of display port contacts. The high speeddata contacts allow for data transfer rates of up to 10 GB/secondthereby allowing 5 GB/sec data transfer using the PCI-express 2.0standard and 8 GB/sec data transfer using the PCI-express 3.0 standard.Active circuitry embedded in the shell of connector 626 converts thePCI-express signals as necessary to other data formats such asminidisplay port signals.

FIG. 58 is a simplified perspective view of a docking station 630 thatincludes a connector tab 635 according to an embodiment of the inventionthat has the same form factor and contact arrangement as tab 44 in FIG.32. Tab 635 extends upward from a surface 632 upon which a portableelectronic device may be placed when docked in station 630 with tab 635mated with a receptacle connector incorporated into the portable mediadevice. A second surface 634 can support a back of the electronic devicewhile docked.

Docking station 630 allows a portable media device, such as an iPod orMP3 player or an iPhone or other smart phone to be connected to a hostcomputer via connector 635. Connector 635 supports the full complementof twelve contacts set forth in FIGS. 34A and 34B and thus allows forline out audio, Mikey bus control and a two channel display port as wellas USB 2.0 synchronization, 5 volt, 2 amp charging and a 3 voltaccessory out signal. In another embodiment, docking station 630 doesnot provide full audio/video support and instead provides charging andUSB data transfer as well as audio out and legacy/UART (universalasynchronous receiver/transmitter) control. FIG. 59 is a diagramdepicting pin locations of connector tab 635 shown in FIG. 58 accordingto this additional embodiment with reduced contact pins in tab 635.

While the discussion of various particular connectors for accessories,cable adapters or other devices set forth above with respect to FIGS.47-59 specifically included twelve contact connectors having a connectorlayout compatible with that of plug connector 300 discussed with respectto FIGS. 32-34B, embodiments of the invention are not so limited. Inother embodiments, similar or identical accessories, cable adapters andother devices may include connectors having twelve contacts arranged ina different layout than connector 300 or having contacts dedicated todifferent signals or signals arranged in a different order.Additionally, still other embodiments include similar or identicalaccessories, cable adapters and other devices that include connectorswith fewer or more contacts than connector 300. A person of skill in theart will readily recognize these and other alternative embodiments ofthe present invention based on the disclosure herein.

Embodiments of the invention are suitable for a multiplicity ofelectronic devices, including any device that receives or transmitsaudio, video or data signals among others. In some instances,embodiments of the invention are particularly well suited for portableelectronic media devices because of their potentially small form factor.As used herein, an electronic media device includes any device with atleast one electronic component that may be used to presenthuman-perceivable media. Such devices may include, for example, portablemusic players (e.g., MP3 devices and Apple's iPod devices), portablevideo players e.g., portable DVD players), cellular telephones (e.g.,smart telephones such as Apple's iPhone devices), video cameras, digitalstill cameras, projection systems (e.g., holographic projectionsystems), gaming systems, PDAs, desktop computers, as well as tablet(e.g., Apple's iPad devices), laptop or other mobile computers. Some ofthese devices may be configured to provide audio, video or other data orsensory output.

FIG. 60 is a simplified illustrative block diagram representing anelectronic media device 700 that includes an audio plug receptacle 705according to embodiments of the present. Electronic media device 700 mayalso include, among other components, connector receptacle 710, one ormore user input components 720, one or more output components 725,control circuitry 730, graphics circuitry 735, a bus 740, a memory 745,a storage device 750, communications circuitry 755 and POM (position,orientation or movement sensor) sensors 760. Control circuitry 730 maycommunicate with the other components of electronic media device 700(e.g., via bus 740) to control the operation of electronic media device700. In some embodiments, control circuitry 730 may execute instructionsstored in a memory 745. Control circuitry 730 may also be operative tocontrol the performance of electronic media device 700. Controlcircuitry 730 may include, for example, a processor, a microcontrollerand a bus (e.g., for sending instructions to the other components ofelectronic media device 700). In some embodiments, control circuitry 730may also drive the display and process inputs received from inputcomponent 720.

Memory 745 may include one or more different types of memory that may beused to perform device functions. For example, memory 745 may includecache, flash memory, ROM, RAM and hybrid types of memory. Memory 745 mayalso store firmware for the device and its applications (e.g., operatingsystem, user interface functions and processor functions). Storagedevice 750 may include one or more suitable storage mediums ormechanisms, such as a magnetic hard drive, flash drive, tape drive,optical drive, permanent memory (such as ROM), semi-permanent memory(such as RAM) or cache. Storage device 750 may be used for storing media(e.g., audio and video files), text, pictures, graphics, advertising orany suitable user-specific or global information that may be used byelectronic media device 700. Storage device 750 may also store programsor applications that may run on control circuitry 730, may maintainfiles formatted to be read and edited by one or more of the applicationsand may store any additional files that may aid the operation of one ormore applications (e.g., files with metadata). It should be understoodthat any of the information stored on storage device 750 may instead bestored in memory 745.

Electronic media device 700 may also include input component 720 andoutput component 725 for providing a user with the ability to interactwith electronic media device 700. For example, input component 720 andoutput component 725 may provide an interface for a user to interactwith an application running on control circuitry 730. Input component720 may take a variety of forms, such as a keyboard/keypad, trackpad,mouse, click wheel, button, stylus or touch screen. Input component 720may also include one or more devices for user authentication (e.g.,smart card reader, fingerprint reader or iris scanner) as well as anaudio input device (e.g., a microphone) or a video input device (e.g., acamera or a web cam) for recording video or still frames. Outputcomponent 725 may include any suitable display, such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) or a touch screen display, a projection device, a speakeror any other suitable system for presenting information or media to auser. Output component 725 may be controlled by graphics circuitry 735.Graphics circuitry 735 may include a video card, such as a video cardwith 2D, 3D or vector graphics capabilities. In some embodiments, outputcomponent 725 may also include an audio component that is remotelycoupled to electronic media device 700. For example, output component725 may include a headset, headphones or ear buds that may be coupled toelectronic media device 700 with a wire or wirelessly (e.g., Bluetoothheadphones or a Bluetooth headset).

Electronic media device 700 may have one or more applications (e.g.,software applications) stored on storage device 750 or in memory 745.Control circuitry 730 may be configured to execute instructions of theapplications from memory 745. For example, control circuitry 730 may beconfigured to execute a media player application that causes full-motionvideo or audio to be presented or displayed on output component 725.Other applications resident on electronic media device 700 may include,for example, a telephony application, a GPS navigator application, a webbrowser application and a calendar or organizer application. Electronicmedia device 700 may also execute any suitable operating system, such asa Mac OS, Apple iOS, Linux or Windows and can include a set ofapplications stored on storage device 750 or memory 745 that iscompatible with the particular operating system.

In some embodiments, electronic media device 700 may also includecommunications circuitry 755 to connect to one or more communicationsnetworks. Communications circuitry 755 may be any suitablecommunications circuitry operative to connect to a communicationsnetwork and to transmit communications (e.g., voice or data) fromelectronic media device 700 to other devices within the communicationsnetwork. Communications circuitry 755 may be operative to interface withthe communications network using any suitable communications protocolsuch as, for example, Wi-Fi (e.g., a 802.11 protocol), Bluetooth, highfrequency systems (e.g., 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.6 GHz communicationsystems), infrared, GSM, GSM plus EDGE, CDMA, quadband and othercellular protocols, VOIP or any other suitable protocol.

In some embodiments, communications circuitry 755 may be operative tocreate a communications network using any suitable communicationsprotocol. Communications circuitry 755 may create a short-rangecommunications network using a short-range communications protocol toconnect to other devices. For example, communications circuitry 755 maybe operative to create a local communications network using theBluetooth protocol to couple with a Bluetooth headset (or any otherBluetooth device). Communications circuitry 755 may also include a wiredor wireless network interface card (NIC) configured to connect to theInternet or any other public or private network. For example, electronicmedia device 700 may be configured to connect to the Internet via awireless network, such as a packet radio network, an RF network, acellular network or any other suitable type of network. Communicationcircuitry 755 may be used to initiate and conduct communications withother communications devices or media devices within a communicationsnetwork.

Electronic media device 700 may also include any other componentsuitable for performing a communications operation. For example,electronic media device 700 may include a power supply, an antenna,ports or interfaces for coupling to a host device, a secondary inputmechanism (e.g., an ON/OFF switch) or any other suitable component.

Electronic media device 700 may also include POM sensors 760. POMsensors 760 may be used to determine the approximate geographical orphysical location of electronic media device 700. As described in moredetail below, the location of electronic media device 700 may be derivedfrom any suitable trilateration or triangulation technique, in whichcase POM sensors 760 may include an RF triangulation detector or sensoror any other location circuitry configured to determine the location ofelectronic media device 700.

POM sensors 760 may also include one or more sensors or circuitry fordetecting the position orientation or movement of electronic mediadevice 700. Such sensors and circuitry may include, for example,single-axis or multi-axis accelerometers, angular rate or inertialsensors (e.g., optical gyroscopes, vibrating gyroscopes, gas rategyroscopes or ring gyroscopes), magnetometers (e.g., scalar or vectormagnetometers), ambient light sensors, proximity sensors, motion sensor(e.g., a passive infrared (PIR) sensor, active ultrasonic sensor oractive microwave sensor) and linear velocity sensors. For example,control circuitry 730 may be configured to read data from one or more ofPOM sensors 760 in order to determine the location orientation orvelocity of electronic media device 700. One or more of POM sensors 760may be positioned near output component 725 (e.g., above, below or oneither side of the display screen of electronic media device 700).

FIG. 61 depicts an illustrative rendering of one particular electronicmedia device 780. Device 780 includes a multipurpose button 782 as aninput component, a touch screen display 784 as a both an input andoutput component, and a speaker 785 as an output component, all of whichare housed within a device housing 790. Device 780 also includes aprimary receptacle connector 786 and an audio plug receptacle 788 withindevice housing 790. Each of the receptacle connectors 786 and 788 can bepositioned within housing 790 such that the cavity of the receptacleconnectors into which a corresponding plug connector is inserted islocated at an exterior surface of the device housing. In someembodiments, the cavity opens to an exterior side surface of device 780.For simplicity, various internal components, such as the controlcircuitry, graphics circuitry, bus, memory, storage device and othercomponents are not shown in FIG. 61. Receptacle connectors according toembodiments of the invention are particularly suitable to be used aseither or both of primary receptacle 786 or audio plug receptacle 788.Additionally, in some embodiments, electronic media device 780 has onlya single receptacle connector that is used to physically interface andconnect the device (as opposed to a wireless connection) to the otherelectronic devices. Embodiments of the invention are also particularlysuitable for such a connector.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from theessential characteristics thereof. As an example, while a number ofembodiments illustrated above included ground contacts that wereincorporated into the retention features, both in the plug connector aswell as the receptacle connector, other embodiments of the invention mayinclude ground contacts along portions of the side or tip of theconnector that is not part of a retention mechanism. Similarly, someembodiments may not include any contacts at all on the side of theconnector tab and instead may include both signal and ground contacts onthe first and second major opposing surfaces of the connector tab. Insuch embodiments, ground contacts can be located within the contactregions 46 a, 46 b and/or may be located at one or more locations onmajor sides 44 a, 44 b outside of contact regions 46 a, 46 b.

Also, while a number of specific embodiments were disclosed withspecific features, a person of skill in the art will recognize instanceswhere the features of one embodiment can be combined with the featuresof another embodiment. For example, some specific embodiments of theinvention set forth above were illustrated with pockets as retentionfeatures. A person of skill in the art will readily appreciate that anyof the other retention features described herein, as well as others notspecifically mentioned, may be used instead of or in addition to thepockets. Also, those skilled in the an will recognize, or be able toascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalentsto the specific embodiments of the inventions described herein. Suchequivalents are intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electrical connector comprising: a cablehaving first and second ends; a first connector coupled to the first endof the cable; a second connector having a different connector formatthan the first connector coupled to the second end of the cable andincluding a body and a connector tab extending away from the body, theconnector tab comprising first and second opposing sides, third andfourth opposing sides, and a plurality of external electrical contactsexposed formed on the first side; circuitry configured to, in responseto a mating event in which the second connector is mated with acorresponding connector, receive a signal from the correspondingconnector and send a reply signal as part of a handshaking algorithm;and power circuitry, coupled between the first connector and the secondconnector, to deliver power received over the first connector to one ormore contacts in the plurality of external contacts; wherein the tab ofthe second connector further comprises an electrically conductive capcovering a distal end of the connector tab and having a first leg thatextends along the third side of the connector tab toward the body and asecond leg that extends along the fourth side of the connector tabtowards the body.
 2. The electrical connector set forth in claim 1wherein the plurality of external contacts includes a first plurality ofcontacts formed on the first side and a second plurality of contactsformed on the second side, wherein the connector tab is shaped to have180 degree symmetry so that the connector tab can be inserted into acorresponding connector in either of two orientations.
 3. The electricalconnector set forth in claim 1 wherein the plurality of externalcontacts are spaced apart in a single row on the first side of theconnector tab.
 4. The electrical connector set forth in claim 1 whereindielectric material surrounds each contact in the first plurality ofcontacts and each contact in the second plurality of contactselectrically isolating the contacts from the conductive cap.
 5. Theelectrical connector set forth in claim 1 wherein the plurality ofexternal contacts are carried by the connector tab between the first andsecond legs of the electrically conductive cap.
 6. The electricalconnector set forth in claim 1 wherein the first and second connectortab surfaces are at least two times as wide as the first and second sidesurfaces.
 7. The electrical connector set forth in claim 1 wherein thefirst leg of the electrically conductive cap extends along the entirethird side of the connector tab from the body to the distal end and thesecond leg of the electrically conductive cap extends along the entirefourth side of the connector tab from the body to the distal end.
 8. Theelectrical connector set forth in claim 7 wherein the body of the secondconnector has an outer surface and a vertical face extending between theouter surface and the connector tab and wherein the connector tabextends from the body in a direction parallel to a length of the bodyand the vertical face surrounds the connector tab at a location wherethe connector tab extends from the body.
 9. The electrical connector setforth in claim 1 wherein the second connector further comprises localretention features formed on the third and fourth exterior sides nearthe distal end of the connector tab and adapted to operatively engagedwith a retention mechanism in a corresponding connector during a matingevent.
 10. The electrical connector set forth in claim 9 wherein thelocal retention features are operable as ground contacts.
 11. Anelectrical connector comprising: a cable having first and second ends; aUSB male connector coupled to the first end of the cable; a second maleconnector coupled to the second end of the cable, the second male plugconnector including a body and a connector tab extending away from thebody, the connector tab having first and second opposing sides, thirdand fourth opposing sides each extending between the first and secondsides, an electrically conductive cap covering a distal end of theconnector tab, and a plurality of external electrical contacts carriedby and exposed at an external surface of the connector tab, theplurality of external contacts including a first plurality of externalcontacts positioned on the first side in a first contact region and asecond plurality of external contacts positioned on the second side in asecond contact region, wherein the connector tab is shaped to have 180degree symmetry so that the connector tab can be inserted into andoperatively coupled to a corresponding receptacle connector in either oftwo orientations; circuitry configured to, in response to a mating eventin which the second male connector is inserted into a correspondingreceptacle connector, receive a signal from the receptacle connector andsend a reply signal as part of a handshaking algorithm; and powercircuitry, coupled between the USB male connector and the second maleconnector to deliver power received at the USB male connector to one ormore contacts in the plurality of external contacts.
 12. The electricalconnector set forth in claim 11 wherein each of the third and fourthopposing sides are narrower than either the first or opposing secondsides.
 13. The electrical connector set forth in claim 11 wherein theelectrically conductive cap includes a first leg that extends along thethird side of the connector tab toward the body and a second leg thatextends along the fourth side of the connector tab towards the body. 14.The electrical connector set forth in claim 11 wherein the electricallyconductive cap defines an entirety of the exterior surfaces of the tabexcept for the first and second contact regions.
 15. The electricalconnector set forth in claim 11 wherein the second male connectorfurther comprises a first recess formed in the electrically conductivecap on the third side near the distal end of the connector tab and asecond recess formed in the electrically conductive cap on the fourthside opposite the first recess, each of the first and second recessesbeing adapted to operatively engaged with a retention mechanism in acorresponding receptacle connector.
 16. The electrical connector setforth in claim 11 further comprising first and second ground contactsformed within the first and second recesses, respectively.
 17. Theelectrical connector set forth in claim 11 wherein the plurality ofplurality of external contacts further includes at least one pair ofdifferential data contacts.
 18. The electrical connector set forth inclaim 11 wherein the first plurality of external contacts includes afirst pair of differential data contacts and the second plurality ofexternal contacts includes a second pair of differential data contacts,the first and second pairs of data differential contacts are arranged ina cater cornered relationship with each other.
 19. An electricalconnector comprising: a cable having first and second ends; a USB maleconnector coupled to the first end of the cable; a second male connectorcoupled to the second end of the cable, the second male connectorincluding a body and a connector tab extending away from the body, theconnector tab having first and second opposing sides, third and fourthopposing sides each extending between the first and second sides, anelectrically conductive cap covering a distal end of the connector taband having a first leg that extends along the third side of theconnector tab toward the body and a second leg that extends along thefourth side of the connector tab towards the body, and a plurality ofexternal electrical contacts carried by the connector tab between thefirst and second legs of the electrically conductive cap, the pluralityof external contacts including a first plurality of contacts formed onthe first side and a second plurality of contacts formed on the secondside, wherein the connector tab is shaped to have 180 degree symmetry sothat the connector tab can be inserted into and operatively coupled to acorresponding receptacle connector in either of two orientations, andwherein the second male connector further comprises a first recessformed in the electrically conductive cap on the third side near thedistal end of the connector tab and a second recess formed in theelectrically conductive cap on the fourth side opposite the firstrecess, each of the first and second recesses being adapted tooperatively engaged with a retention mechanism in a correspondingreceptacle connector; circuitry configured to, in response to a matingevent in which the second male connector is inserted into acorresponding receptacle connector, receive a signal from the receptacleconnector and send a reply signal as part of a handshaking algorithm;and power circuitry, coupled between the USB male connector and thesecond male connector to deliver power received at the USB maleconnector to one or more contacts in the plurality of external contacts.